Robophobia - Dead Earth
by Virdu
Summary: On a distant world, explorers discover what may be the greatest threat to life in the galaxy. Yet it may also carry salvation for all - but only, if old prejudices can be discarded... once and for all.
1. Chapter 1

**1st Arc - Dead Earth**

**Chapter 1: Emergence**

Disclaimer: Neither **Mass Effect** nor **Karakuridôji Ultimo** belongs to me.

_Author note_: There's no Reapers in this fic, though the big bad here possibly will appear in a similar form. as for the manga series, the dôji have a different background and purpose here. With inspirations for the setting, and the big bad, drawn from multiple sources such as _9_ and the _Matrix_. Also, there will be some yaoi in this story, though exclusively among the dôji - who are all technically genderless as they are all synthetics.

**_Author note 2_**: Yes, I know I removed this story from the site earlier. Did it almost entirely on impulse after some deliberations on whether I took certain things too far. With some recent consideration I decided to put the story back up. Sorry for the trouble, and I hope you enjoy the story.

* * *

_Date_: 2151 CE

_Location_: Orbit above third planet from local star in newly discovered [Yet unnamed] system.

Dr. Mornoa stood in the bridge of the science vessel _Uncovering sight_, waiting for the completion of initial scans of the planet below. The atmosphere inside the ship was a gloomy one, such work is never an easy one.

Citadel surveyors discovered the relay that linked to this system a year ago, but only recently did it receive a large amount of attention. Mostly because the initial surveyors discovered a cache of Prothean technology on the system's fourth planet.

The third planet did not seem to have anything interesting of note, as it was completely shrouded by a seemingly impenetrable global storm. Because of this, it was thought to be a lifeless world. But recently, just three weeks ago, the expedition that eventually set up camp on the fourth planet picked up a weak signal coming from the third planet.

A long-range scan was conducted, and it was confirmed that the global layer of clouds hid a surface covered by the ruins left behind by an unknown civilization. The discovery of extensive radiation-coverage across most of the surface indicated destruction by a nuclear war, increasing the number of known sapient life – destroyed by nuclear war, up to eight.

And now, Mornoa, a prominent archaeologist from the Salarian Union, had been sent with a dedicated ship and crew of his own to study the planet more closely, and to eventually effect a landing.

More than anything else, he wanted to get down there sooner rather than later. Whatever information might still exist down on the surface are possibly withering away slowly even now as they dither about in orbit. Time's of the essence.

"Are you certain?" the ship's captain; Veera, one of the few Asari on board, asked wistfully. Not taking her eyes off the display as a section of the storm twisted with the collision of heavy concentrations of clouds, causing a violent release of electricity.

"Yes." Dr. Mornoa replied, clenching his fist.. "What's taking so long?" he hammered those words across as if they were nails. His thoughts were the same as everyone else on the ship; what kind of boons and contributions could this species had brought to galactic civilization had they still lived?

In any case, he wanted to find out as much about them as possible.

Holograms plopped up and hovered between him and the canopy, showing dots across the map that indicated ruins of more than two million cities of various sizes across the face of the planet. Most of them being in the northern hemisphere.

He was somewhat relieved to see the ruins having survived to this extent.. but it also meant that the cataclysm happened relatively recently. He couldn't study all of these places even if he had a hundred life-times to do it, though. So he settled on just one location for starters. After a slight moment of rapid thought, he raised a hand and placed the index finger firmly against the western part of the largest landmass. "Take us down here." it was no coincidence that he chose this particular location.. as it's where those signals they detected earlier came from.

Veera scrutinized the image, and started on a nod as she turned to her crew. "Helm, take us in. Punch through the area with lowest weather activity." judging an approach through a thunderstorm to be less than desirable.

"Aye aye, ma'am." the turian helm replied as he broke orbit and turned the ship on an inbound trajectory. Guiding the ship skillfully into the planet's atmosphere.

Most of the trip down to the planet below was uneventful, until they met with the thick layer of clouds that obscured the planet. It shuddered as they pierced through it. A depressing sight awaited them.

What they saw was a darkened world fraught with storms. The mood on board managed to degrade from gloomy – to outright bleak, as they gazed upon the largely lifeless world.

"One big graveyard..." Veera whispered so softly that the words barely even left her lips before dispersing into nothing.

Dr. Mornoa lowered his head mournfully before tapping in the coordinates of the city he chose as their starting area. "Bring us in, here.. All science teams; ready yourselves. Our work will begin the moment we land."

He received a few green lights of confirmation before handing his PDA over to the captain and calmly left the bridge to prepare alongside the rest.

* * *

Seventy-five minutes later.

_Location_: On planet surface; northern hemisphere; outside the _Uncovering sight_.

The old salarian looked outward at the cityscape surrounding them merely minutes after the _Uncovering sight_ had finished executing a fine landing. Crews funneling out of it to begin their work. All wearing appropriate suits to protect them against the extensive radiation of their environment. Their Geiger counter went insane the moment they left the ship, and kept screaming until the scientists turned it off. There's radiation everywhere, so there was no point in trying to find a radiation-free area.

A tall monument with a statue on top overlooked the area from the center of the plaza. Only a few parts of it remained relatively undamaged.. Judging by the looks of the statue on top, the natives possessed physical traits similar to both Asari and Batarians to various degrees.

A turian member of the security team that tagged along with them stood nearby, also looking up at the statue with something akin to a frown before turning away. His interest drained almost immediately.

He turned slowly to examine his group as they moved towards him, wobbling clumsily in those big hazard suits. "Shall we move out?" Maelon, his assistant asked with eagerness evident in his tone. A promising young man who recently graduated, eager to prove himself on the field. A good lad with a productive future ahead of him.

Mornoa smiled, "Yes." gesturing at the uneven cityscape, with a blend of old-style and advanced architecture filling the view, which seemed to lead up to a tower in the distance, seemingly more advanced and recent than the rest. From the air, it looked as though something had broken it in half. Exactly what, he had no way of knowing without a proper investigation, but he had a feeling in his gut that they might be able to find something there. "Follow me, and stay close."

And so he and his group of six, along with a trio of security guards moved out. Similarly sized teams fanning out in every available direction. All eager to uncover everything these ruins might contain.

* * *

_Date_: 26th March, 3573 A.D.

_Location_: Europe – Germany, the ruins of Potsdam.

"Just what are they _doing_?" Promina asked in confusion, tilting his and managing a frown despite his head consisting largely of a fanged helmet with red slits for eyes behind his visor. He looked up searchingly at their hulking CO, Orgullo.

The aspect of Pride; Orgullo, being one of the very few bulky dôji gazed back down at the comparatively diminutive minor dôji standing before him. "Nothing we can do about it. Except wait and keep checking the enemy's resource routes. This silent treatment they've given us these last couple of months might be an attempt to make us think they've grown weak. We must avoid growing careless."

"So all we do is... nothing?" Promina argued. "It doesn't make any sense! The kurozu haven't made a move in months. Their power-grids are down, their factories are idle, military and all other mobile assets are cooped up in their bases. And all mining operations are inactive. And they only react when we get too close to their facilities, only to become inactive again afterwards. What are they _waiting_ for?"

"We've had this argument before, Promina." Orgulla rumbled tiredly, attempting to make the minor dôji scurry back to the others with a mild shove from his massive gauntlets. "Until the _big three_ agree on attacking them _directly and in force_, we'll continue doing what we've always been doing."

The minor dôji communications officer held his ground for a split second until the advancing wall of his superior's gauntlet made him change his mind. Only offering token resistance that seemed almost childish before backing away.

The rest of his platoon of five hundred dôji soldiers tried to listen in. All manner of eyes fixed on the aspect, though no words were spoken.

A tiny measure of appeasement was in order to distract them.

Orgullo managed a faint grin before lifting his left gauntlet, using his Noh to conjure flames. After the initial burst, he pointing an index finger at the sky; as if to regulate the intensity; a grand fire appeared in the middle of the area in front of him.

The tension vanished in nearly an instant as dôji all around closed in to huddle around the fire. The aspect was quick to increase the heat spread to force the cold out of the surrounding area. Now he just needed to wait for the daily food supplies to arrive, and they'll all forget about the argument on the spot.

_Speak of the devil._

A ball of energy appeared, right on cue. From it, a counter was conjured, on which a long line of packs filled with nutri-bars could be seen. But the one that pulled everyone's eye was the appearance of the aspect of Generosity, standing behind the counter.

Orgullo chuckled at the resulting frenzy as his soldiers fell over one another to get to the counter. Service's one of the morale officers among the aspects, and a good one at that. He even holds concerts sometimes, and is very popular among the people. That aspect attracts production requests as much as a corpse attracts flies. A rather morbid comparison, but then again, Orgullo's one of the Sins, speaking of rainbows and butterflies wasn't in his kind's nature.

"Here you go, sir." one of the other minor dôji's, one shaped much like an archetypical comic-hero approached him and handed over one of the boxes he just fetched. And he's in a brilliant mood, if one might say so.

"Thanks." he halfway huffed, snatching the food out of his subordinate's grasp. "So what's with you today, Justice?" Justice was only three years old, but that's practically an adult by dôji reckoning. He entered Orgullo's battalion just two months ago.

"Feeling great. I've been given two weeks' leave, starting tomorrow. The creation of my little boy's being finalized as we speak." Justice smiled, it looked like he was going to fish up and show off a photo at any moment like an overly proud and loving parent would. Judging from the gleam in his eyes... Justice wasn't too far off the mark.

The aspect shrugged, "Just don't let your guard down. Your dreamy expression is something I'd loathe to see during a battle."

"Sir, what's the odds of one happening right now?"

"Sir!" the two turned to see Promina coming back, wearing a mask of urgency as well as he's able.. "We've gotten a message from HQ!"

Orgullo for a moment expected that the tiresome git had gotten brave enough for another verbal exchange.. but exhaled through his nostrils in relief, "Report."

"They've detected weird energy readings, and want us to investigate it immediately."

"Weird?" Justice inquired while nibbling on a nutri-bar.

"As in: Unknown."

"...Anything else?" Orgullo asked almost hopefully.

Promina paused and placed a hand against his head, checking.. "It's faint. But there's a very faint kurozu signal coming from the area."

"Where?"

"Luxembourg city."

"... _Shit_. We got rapid transit available?"

"Operational and ready. Priority call."

"We got a battle on our hands, at long last." Orgullo got up and stomped through the area, his soldiers clearing away to give the giant a wide berth. The great campfire vanished in a single puff as his mind wandered back to work, "Same procedure as always, we go in hard and fast! Hit them before they know we're there, and we'll all get back in one piece, just in time for dinner." he shouted at them like a drill sergeant.

"Good luck, hope to see you all soon." Service called out as he distributed the remaining food before he vanished along with the counter in a burst of light. His presence replaced by a golden orb courtesy of a certain someone among the big three. A spatial orb, adorned with the symbol of a crane, used to travel quickly across long distances when necessary, waiting to be used.

"Any questions?" Orgullo asked, looking at all those around him for a moment. When no one spoke up, he approached the orb and placed a gauntlet against it.. "Then lets go."

* * *

_Location_: Local tower/skyscraper, entrance to 1st floor.

They had no sooner entered the tower before they found themselves at an ancient site of terrible carnage. They found a lobby filled with the corpses of what must have been soldiers back during the war that reduced this world to such a sorry state.

"Something's wrong." Maelon observed, bringing up his personal scanner. They hadn't opened the front entrance yet, and he wasn't about to let the rest enter before he knew what's inside. "The bodies inside are too well-preserved."

"... You're right. These bodies should have rotted away by now, but instead they're just withered." another fellow archaeologist commented.

"Anything we should be worried about?" Mornoa inquired as he gazed into the place, rubbing the side of his palms against the glass to make it easier for him to see through, without much effect.

"That's strange." Maelon said, "There's no atmosphere in there at all. Not even the slightest sign of bacteria. I don't know how, but this place was hermetically sealed by... something."

"Anything dangerous inside?"

"No." he concluded with a whisper, "Everything's clear from the looks of it."

"Shall we open it?" Torvus – one of the guards, asked.

Mornoa gave a nod, "Do it." before turning away to radio back to the ship, "Captain, we've found something big. Deploy the buggy, we're going to need its transport capacity to get these new finds back to the ship for analysis."

Static belched back into his ear as the Captain answered; "Alright. Mind telling me what you guys found?"

The aging salarian hummed, turning back to the entrance just as the guards managed to open it with a small explosive, watching alongside the rest as the air suddenly popped in audibly through the new hole to fill the space within. As if the lobby was an airless void. Shattered glass flowing in with the resulting wind before landing on the floor. "A miraculously well-preserved site of a battle."

"Nothing bad, we're good to go." Maelon confirmed, being the first one to enter – alongside Torvus who simply couldn't let one of the eggheads enter a potentially dangerous place first.

They quickly went to work, carefully lining up the bodies inside, and placed them within body bags before loading them onto the buggy after it arrived. All of the bodies seemed intact bar severe discoloration, and the thing about them being dead. All of them wore armor that ranged from what could be standard combat uniform to heavy power armor. The aliens also gathered the weapons lying around with great care, except Torvus who picked up what looked like a double-barreled handgun that seemed to be operational. And whenever he cocked it, the barrels split vertically in half. One of the others tried to tell him to put it down with the other gathered weapons, afraid that the gun might blow up in the turian's face.

Mornoa watched as this went on, until Maelon once again managed to fetch his attention. The old salarian approached the assistant where he stood examining what resembled a vent.. only, the grill that was supposed to be there was clogged by strange green substance.

"See this?" the young lad asked with fascination, his eyes on said substance.

"What about it?" Mornoa asked curiously, "It's what caused this place to become airtight?" it was a guess on his part.

"According to scans, there are pockets of gas in it." Maelon replied, "Only, this is no ordinary gas. The same substance can be found on the heavy armored suits too. And I'm guessing it might be in the bodies' bloodstream too. Imagine.. a type of poison gas with several ways of killing things. Aside from the obvious, being able to eat up oxygen, and eventually use it to harden itself?"

Mornoa pondered this information, "A gruesome weapon." he lamented at the thought.

"Yes." Maelon nodded enthusiastically, "Considering that the natives failed to get out indicates that the gas itself kills very quickly. The clogging of airways, vents and the burning of breathable gases makes sure to suffocate those with gear appropriate for countering the former... Take those heavy suits for example."

The young one was apparently interested, but it greatly worried Mornoa. He couldn't understand what kind of people would develop weapons such as this.

Truth be told, it was something he'd rather not think about.. and was granted a distraction as the building suddenly shook, with a sudden eruption of light and a surprised gasp.

Looking at where it came from, they saw Torvus standing there, completely stunned. He had just used the native handgun and fired a shot at the wall.. except now with the dust clearing away, the team could plainly see that the tiny weapon had successfully blown through a section of the wall, leaving a hole about ten meters across. No wonder he simply stood there, as if frozen solid. "This... thing... is _wicked_...!" Torvus managed to say after staring blankly at the wall he just destroyed.

Mornoa had no need to answer when Veera called in about the sudden commotion, one of the others already did. And considering how the turian down there kept wincing, she's probably chewing him out now about the reckless handling of foreign weapons he doesn't even have a license for..

"Nothing to worry about, Captain. No one's hurt." the salarian tossed in as they prepared to head back to the ship with all that they've found so far. "The other teams making progress?"

But Veera was not about to let Torvus off easily, releasing a rasping sigh of exasperation as she controlled her voice just enough to answer to the leader of this mission, "Seems like it. Right now, we're having a little trouble keeping in touch with the second and sixth team. Probably just interference."

* * *

_Meanwhile_

_Location_: Downtown.

'_Flash! Aah-aahhhh! Savior of the universe!_'

"This is some _strange _interference." Sonus whispered while slamming a hand against the side of his helmet, trying to get his earpiece to work properly. He wanted to know what that big flash of light was, "Can anyone of you get in touch with the Captain? I'm only getting strange alien music here."

"Nothing but static, maybe your earpiece is broken." the lead scientist on the group he's guarding replied after making another attempt at hailing the _Uncovering sight_. He and the rest of his colleagues trying to analyze an old terminal in an attempt to find something to bring back to the ship. Sufficed to say, they haven't had much luck so far. "Should we head back?"

"That would be most prudent, yes."

But they did not get any further before Aeline – a fellow guard, suddenly opened up a clipped burst on something, shouting a shrill; "Contact!" while at it. Whatever she saw, it's gone now.

"Hold fire! What the hell did you just see?" Sonus shouted at the asari as she stared at the area in front of them.

She only managed to look back at him with great effort, "I don't know. A big tentacled.. _thing_... It slipped away before I could nail it-"

No sooner did she finish before the lead scientist and the others cried out in terror when something shot down at a subordinate of his, smashed the unfortunate one's skull with a snap of claws that appeared to be attached to a long metallic tentacle. Sonus and Aeline both opened fire at the strange thing even as it pulled the salarian's body up and out of sight.. before discarding it back to them just a few seconds later – in pieces.

"Step away from the wall, now!" Sonus called out, clicking his mandibles as synthetic horrors appeared from the darkest shadows all around them. Dozens of them. He swallowed hard, trying to stare down unknown adversaries that looked like demons in this all-consuming darkness. He was about to fire when a wall of light suddenly stormed past him, killing several of the machines in one go. The lead scientist was hit by that beam as well, his severed arm falling to the ground after the rest of the salarian's body had been vaporized by that same shot. "W-what the-?"

He turned just in time to see several more machines shot down as another force made its appearance. But it only lasted for a second before his vision was filled with burning light.

* * *

_Location_: Downtown, close to Sonus' team.

"Enemy confirmed. Forty-seven kurozu hostiles in sight. Squid-variant. Warning, unknown targets in sight; humanoid; Six units." Promina reported the initial sightings as the battalion arrived in Luxembourg. A dozen fellow dôji rushing past him to take positions, a movement echoed across ten neighboring streets. The ground lightly shaking as Orgullo stomped past him.

"Humanoid? Some new variant?" he growled, "No matter, saturate the entire area, now! No survivors!"

Several voices called out as a dozen '_Karakuri henges_' were initiated, bringing an assortment of arm-cannons into play.

"Maximum spread, fire!"

The line of soldiers opened up all at once, wiping out the targets before them with a couple of sweeping salvos. Leaving little behind but complete ruination.. Only the few kurozu-squids far enough from the ground managed survived to retreat.

Promina watched, and raised his shoulders very slightly.. it couldn't even qualify as a shrug. A fight against five hundred kurozy would have been a decent challenge to a few dozen minor dôji, but the other way around.. it's just a massacre.

But he was curious about those humanoids. Did it not look like they were trying to defend themselves from kurozu assault? It was weird to think about.. as there hasn't been a single case like this since humanity died out at the hands of the kurozu.

His line of thought was interrupted as Orgullo called for the battalion to advance, just as the entire horizon seemed to be in upheaval. Promina quickly deployed his regular shotgun-henge, and hurried to help his comrades.

"Kurozu swarms up ahead!" Justice announced further ahead.

"Must be a thousand at least.."

Orgullo did not take his eyes off the scene as the flying horde of enemies continued to emerge from the ground.. Many dôji already in the process of picking them off by the dozen like they're flocks of pigeons. "Standard procedure: Split into groups of five and initiate claw formation. I want the skies clear ten minutes ago."

Individual squad leaders called out as most of the battalion took to the sky to engage the enemy.

* * *

_Location_: Downtown, on the way back to _Uncovering sight_.

They did not know what just happened.. only that they needed to get back asap. It sounded as if a battle's going on over their heads, and all across the sky. But in this dark, they couldn't see anything but dozens of worm-like shadows that snaked through the air every time a bolt of lightning illuminated the sky, each in pursuit of something that's even less clear. Otherwise, the air was filled with the echoes of gunfire, blasts, explosions and the insane screeching of metal.

"Duck!" Torvus shouted on the top of his lungs for the rest to lower their heads as something huge passed right over them, "Dr. Maelon, get do-" the shout died in his throat as he faintly watched Mornoa's assistant's now headless body tumble off the buggy. "The fuck is happening! Wasn't this planet supposed to be uninhabited?"

Mornoa grit his teeth.. having watched his assistant die as well. It was so sudden, and shocking that he couldn't answer the guard at all, only whimpering a faint; "W-what am I supposed to tell his parents..?" _the poor lad_...

Everyone kept their heads down as they finally arrived.. their driver in his panic stepped on it, sending them hurling towards the side of the ship while smashing away scattered wrecks along the way.. They would have praised themselves lucky if they knew that the area around them are littered with the bodies from other survey teams that attempted to retreat back to the _Uncovering sight_, only to be cut down by an unseen foe.

"Captain, open the hangar door! We're on our way in!" Torvus yelled through his earpiece.

The answer was immediate as the hangar opened up before them. It was a remarkably beautiful sight with all those lights. A view that looked like the safest place in the world, "Roger that. Hurry!"

The buggy quickly crossed the rest of the distance and almost jumped into the ship's hangar. The door closing shut behind them with a speed that could be best described as agonizingly slow in these circumstances. It went all the way without stop.. but not before the sliver of safety they felt moments ago were crushed as something tossed a disc-shaped device into the hangar, which subsequently transformed into some kind of an insect – before it rushed to the closest crew member and latched onto his leg.

"Uuwaaah, get it off me!" the salarian crewman cried out just before the little machine self-destructed, killing him and a colleague who had come to try and pry the thing off.

Mornoa cursed under his breath.. How many more will die before this is over? He thought miserably as he disembarked from the buggy and ran all the way to the bridge, where he found Veera and the rest already hard at work to get the ship started up, "Dr. Mornoa.. there you are. We're pulling out, most of our personnel are down..."

"There's no need to convince me, Captain." the salarian replied gruffly, "Take off, immediately."

"Uh... ma'am...?" helm's quaking voice reached them as a massive tremor shook the area. Several city blocks collapsed before their eyes as something enormous came up from the ground. They stood no chance of seeing all of it, and thought it was an abnormally gigantic thresher maw until a massive single blood-red eye showed itself, staring unblinkingly at them. The ship itself wobbling when something curled around it. "It's got us!"

"Bring up weapons, hurry!" Veera cried out.

Gunnery officer turned, "Trying. But i'm not getting any response!"

"Bridge, what's happening out there? There's something trying to break into the hangar!" Torvus called in from the hangar before the air suddenly split with a metallic scream, "It's breached.. it's...Guwaarghh!"

Silence ruled the bridge as the ship continued to be swing about, as if pulled by the giant still filling their vision. No one dared to look to the door behind them... not even as a number of blood-drenched tentacles with claws suddenly destroyed it, and made a line for those inside the bridge.

* * *

Five minutes later.

_Location_: Close to the Monument of Remembrance. Post-battle.

The battle finally ended.. with at least seven hundred kurozu-squids shot down. While the dôji themselves managed to get past with just about fifty-two wounded. Twenty of that number; severely. What's left of the enemy forces pulled back to cover the kurozu-worm as it curled a large number of tentacles around the strange ship, and made a full retreat once the worm had fully pulled back into the hole it came from with the ship in tow.

"Ah.. victory." Orgullo called it. But Promina wasn't so sure. He had a sinking feeling that whatever the kurozu came here for... they got it.

He landed next to one of the 'wrecks' that was left behind by the strange humanoids. Their CO thought they were weapons or tools created by the kurozu, but something's odd about them.

They did not fight... much. Tried to flee. Too easy to destroy. And the wrecks left behind leaked some kind of red fluid. Promina prodded the fluid with a finger and lifted it up to his eye-level. After a close examination, a thought occurred to him; _Could this... be... blood?_

Whatever it is... best pass this all of this information on to the aspect of Wisdom. He'll certainly know what to make of this.

"Front and center." his CO called out. The minor dôji turned around and hurried back to the rest. Regardless of thoughts... he's still on duty for now. A message could be sent later.

However, halfway there, he received what sounded like a broadcast.. Something about kurozu power-grids coming back online across the entire planet. It couldn't possibly be a mere coincidence that this happened right after the worm captured that ship. It made a report to the aspect of Wisdom all the more important.

One thing's for sure. It's going to get _really_ busy from now on.

* * *

Three days later.

_Location_: Fourth planet, Prothean archives.

"And since then, you haven't managed to contact them?"

Matriarch Benezia gazed at the landscape beyond the window of one of many habitation modules that have been established in the wake of the expedition's arrival to this red barren planet. A momentous sand storm could be seen in the distance. Dr. Mornoa, who went to investigate the third planet, was a friend of hers. Deep inside, she hoped that he and his crew's still alive.. but it's been three days, and the latest report was a desperate, incoherent, and garbled cry.

After they lost contact, the Council wasted no time in sending in a few of their top operatives.

With a heavy heartfelt sigh, she turned back to said operative, to answer the question. Over the last thirty minutes they've been replaying every report the expedition received from Dr. Mornoa's team during the short time they remained in contact, "Yes. We tried sending another ship, but they could not detect the _Uncovering sight_ at all. Not even beacons." she paused for effect as she looked back at the Spectre; Saren Arterius. "What's worse.." another pause, "... I don't know what to call it at this point. But we've detected massive energy-signatures across the surface right after we lost contact with them. What do you make of this?"

"What else?" Saren focused his eyes on her as if they could burn a hole through her skull, "You've been had. The initial signal and inactivity was all to lure you in, in order to claim a ship. Whoever the perpetrators are, they're most likely in the process of reverse-engineering the _Uncovering sight_, all so they may build ships of their own."

Benezia's expression was filled with dismay at the implications. "Then... what is our next step?"

Saren looked thoughtful as he pondered this. But it did not last long before his piercing eyes regained their focus, "I will notify the Council about the details of what transpired here. Once I receive the order, I'll assemble a small team to investigate the alien presence. And since time's of the essence, I'll be pulling those I need from your crews."

"F-from my crews?" that seemed to unsettle the Matriarch even more.

"Yes. Even though many of them come from the lesser races, we will need what expertise they got." Saren muttered in a condescending manner. "And that, is non-negotiable."

Benezia nodded very grimly, with great reluctance. Her eyes widening as the door to her office opened to reveal the other Spectre that recently arrived; Nihlus Kryik, along with the current Spectre-candidate; Garrus Vakarian.

"Comrades." Saren addressed them without turning around, "We got much work ahead of us..."

* * *

Only one vaguely apparent attempt at humor in this chapter. Was watching Halo: Legends; Odd One Out, and decided to throw in something similar to one particular moment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Recruitment**

* * *

_Date_: 2151 CE. Three hours after initial conversation with Expedition leader Matriarch Benezia.

_Location_: Fourth planet, Prothean archives.

"He's late." Garrus whispered under his breath, lazing against the chair with some boredom. "How long does it take for the Council to see the point?"

"Patience, my friend." Nihlus told his subordinate mildly, "Even for a Spectre, there are times when we need to... slice and dice some bureaucratic red tape. We're talking about a possible first contact scenario that ended up misunderstood."

"Those bastards slaughtered a crew of nearly two hundred. What's there to misunderstand?"

"I'm just saying.." Nihlus shrugged, "I'm going to withhold my judgment until I see what's down there, and what exactly killed those people, and for what reasons." performing a nod with each use of comma.

"The galaxy might not be as open-minded though." Garrus plucked up a PDA and slid it across the table for Nihlus to see.. "The news about their deaths are all around the news already. It has probably spread all the way to Omega by now."

The Spectre did not appear pleased as he took a moment to read the articles about the killings.

"See? They're already starting to judge the dwellers of the third planet, like they're a bunch of Vorcha."

"They are being too hasty." Nihlus shook his head with disapproval. And then turned to the door as Saren finally came. "So, how did it go?"

"As good as can be hoped." Saren quickly sat down by the table, resting his head momentarily against his palm. "Managed to convince the Council to marshal, and position a fleet on the far side of the local relay, and at least six frigates on orbit around this planet. I'm not taking any chances here."

"Thorough work, as always." Garrus complimented, though he tilted his head slightly at such drastic measures. Wondering what the hell he said to make the Council go this far. To the Spectre-candidate, this only shows how dangerous Saren can be, with all the weight he's capable of throwing around.

"So what's our next step?" Nihlus inquired, "To assemble a team? If so, I've got the dossiers of possible candidates." and braced himself.

Saren only gave a nod, looking like he's bracing himself. Almost expecting to be disappointed. The two of them are old friends, but there _are_ a few things where they just can't see eye to eye.

Nihlus forwarded the dossiers from his own PDA – onto the hologram projector in the middle of the table. Two tablets appeared, and hovered into place, spinning slowly. He managed to avoid rolling his eyes when Saren grunted in distaste.

"Quarian..."

"One of the best engineers when the chips are down." Nihlus mildly remarked. "We're going into unknown territory. We don't even know what the aliens look like, or if they possess technology we're familiar with. Having a skillful and flexible engineer on our team could be a great boon." It was typical. Saren looked at species, while Nihlus himself looked at skills and talents. This being the area where they butt heads the most.

"Have you spoken to her yet?" Saren looked from Nihlus and to Garrus.

"No. Only gone through personnel data so far."

Garrus hummed appreciatively, "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. and Dr. Liara T'Soni. But... you do know that Liara is Benezia's daughter, right?"

"If she agrees to come along with us, there's nothing the Matriarch can do." Nihlus shrugged it off. "They may serve on the same expedition, but there's a cold front between them these days; _according_ to rumors."

Garrus managed to raise an utterly non-existent eyebrow at that. ".. That's ruthlessness on a whole new level, Nihlus."

"If it's gets us the team we need for this upcoming mission, I'm willing to go _all the way_."

"Then let's get started. We got four days until the frigates arrive. They'll be bringing a shuttle for us to use; one especially made for missions that require stealth. By the time they arrive, we must be ready to begin." Saren informed them, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"Then if you don't mind." Nihlus replied accordingly, folding his arms and unfolding them before he stood up to leave. Garrus remained in his chair for just a moment longer before following suit.

"As you wish." Saren shrugged, watching them leave before turning off the hologram. "Now let's see if someone else might be available."

* * *

"Bosh'tet!" Tali grumbled, shaking her fist at the other aliens she had to share space with. Being the only Quarian in this group of engineers... a facility apart from others of her kind that had chosen to get a job here. "I swear, if I get through this day alive. I'll ask for a damn transfer." she angrily vowed while easing her slender frame into one of the engineering shafts dotting this corridor, climbing down with haste so she might get back to trying to force a particularly stubborn set of blast doors that so far managed to curb further progress into the depths of the Prothean facility.

She was given that task an hour ago. One stinking hour. And it absolutely had to happen right before lunch. Those bastards she's working with in this section put something in her food that put her to sleep.. and then, adding insult to injury; they went and reconfigured her omni-tool.

And there she was, snoring for almost an hour until one of the supervisors came over and yelled at her for dereliction.

And the bunch of bosh'tets just laughed at her from far away. Seriously, if that drug had been just a tiny bit off in composition, she could have died. All because of one damned immature prank.

She made sure to attach a security rope upon arriving before opening the nearby control panel. _Seeing_ that flawlessly spotless Prothean circuitry before her eyes, she temporarily forgot about why she was so angry about for a few blissful moments and let her fingers dance across the panel. The blast door was sealed very thoroughly, but it wasn't beyond her capability to handle. "Don't underestimate me, you little.." feeling comfortable to be right in her element. "There... just need to rearrange.. there, and there!"

A dull thud shook the wall, followed by the a mechanical sigh not far away as the blast door finally opened.

"It's about damned time." the voice belched into her ear, belonging to the supervisor that woke her up. "If I find you napping again during work-hours, I'll make sure your payment's cut in half!"

Something inside her died a little bit at the ungrateful tone. Even though she did her best to shrug off what she knew would be incoming abuse, "Sir, you should be yelling at the others on my team, they put something in my food!"

"I'm not interested in your fancy excuses, Tali'Zorah. Get back to-" the supervisor paused.. leaving the quarian standing there, waiting.. "Never mind. Someone's here to see you."

"Can it wait? I'm far enough behind schedule as it is."

"Cram i-!" the man's voice exploded into a cough, much to Tali's slight amusement, who for one single hopeful moment hoped he had forced his vocal chord too far this time, "Just go. The guy says it's important."

The quarian grimaced as she tried to think of what might be so important. Last she wanted, was to get fired... Even though she'd love to get away from the idiots upstairs. "Okay... tell him to meet me upstairs." she replied slowly and ended the conversation there, turning back to detach the rope before climbing all the way back up, finding herself in a sudden uneasy atmosphere where everyone watched their step a little too much. And she found out why the moment she saw a heavily armed turian standing not far away.

"Miss Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, I presume?" the man asked, tilting his head as if looking the quarian over.

"Yes... that's me." Tali answered cautiously, placing her hands down on her hips. Easiest way to get ones hands close to one's gun – in case the worst happens. Though, it was more of an automated reflex with little use right now, as she's not allowed to carry guns at work... or she'd already used it on her so-called coworkers by now. "Who... are you? What do you want?"

"Garrus Vakarian. I'm here to offer you a job."

"A job?" she asked, though making it sound more like a statement.

"Yes. You recall what happened recently, regarding the third planet?"

"... All I know is that people died down there. Why?"

"We're gathering a team to investigate, and find out what happened down there. Right now it includes me, and two Spectres. But we need, among others, a skilled engineer to accompany us."

"You just want me because I'm more expendable, right?"

It seemed for a moment that Garrus' cognitive processes crashed as he gaped in a rather dumbfounded manner before instantly recollecting himself; "No. The mission will be dangerous.. That goes without saying. But exactly because of that, we need the best of the best in order to maximize our chances for success. It's not because you're a quarian, but because you are the best within your field of expertise. Skill, that's what we want on our team."

Tali seemed taken aback by this.. "A-are you sure?" barely keeping herself from blushing. "Sure there's no one else more suitable for the job?"

"No, there isn't." Garrus hammered it across, "Because the mission will involve much greater risk than your current job, you _will_ be compensated accordingly. You'll be making ninety credits an hour..."

She stared at him, as if trying to look for any signs of him lying. That amount of credits offered easily being several times the amount she already receives in her current job. "T-that's..."

"There's a chance that we'll be dealing with unknown tech, Tali'Zorah." he continued, practically bringing out a carrot and dangling it in front of her, "So we won't settle for anything short of excellence." … "So, do you accept this job?" he asked with a sense of finality. One that only required a 'yes' or 'no'.

Tali's mind raced at a thousand miles per hour as she ran the whole conversation over and over again through her head. Trying to see if there's anything she's missing. Countless questions needed to be answered about the planet they're going to. And more about what they might find there. But Garrus and his companions might not know much more than she did. What interested her even more was the mentioning of unknown technology; wondering if she might find something along the way that might greatly benefit the Migrant fleet.

"Miss?" he asked, his arm stretched out.

She blinked rapidly as all of her thoughts finally reached a conclusion. She grabbed, and shook his hand, "Yes. I accept." with a brilliant smile to go with it.

"Glad to have you on board, Tali'Zorah." Garrus exhaled with great relief.

"Please. Call me Tali."

"Alright,_ Tali_. There's still a few days until the mission's gonna start, so make whatever preparations you deem necessary in the meantime. We'll call for you once it's time for the briefing." he informed her crisply, "But for now, I think it'll be best for you to return to work before that surly supervisor throws another fit."

The quarian momentarily froze as if she could feel the man's eyes digging into the back of her head. She turned to look, but no one there but those idiots in the distance. "Y-yeah, you're right." she climbed back down into the hole she left.

As soon as Tali had vanished into the darkness below, Garrus opened a link to Nihlus.. "She's in."

* * *

_Location_: Mess hall.

"Good." Nihlus responded to the good news. That's one down. "I've gotten a general fix on Liara's location." odd thing to say, considering that this facility isn't all that big to begin with. But the girl was being surprisingly elusive.

"I can go and try to talk to her if you want me to." Garrus replied, "Where can I find her?"

"Hmm, she's down in the 10th floor of the Archives. Spends most of her time down there, according to the people here."

"How come?"

"She's got a little bit of a grudge going on because Benezia decided to pull her out of an ongoing archeological project on the far side of the galaxy. Presumably to keep her daughter where she can keep an eye on her." Nihlus explained while watching people pass by on their way back to work.. "Since the lower levels of the archives became accessible, Liara went ahead and immersed herself in whatever she found down there. On that note, feel free to use that bit of cold shoulder she's giving her mother to your advantage - if it comes to that."

"I'll see what I can do." Garrus paused.. "Say... where's Saren by the way? Haven't seen him since the meeting."

"He went to the medical wing. Trying to recruit a certain salarian doctor; Mordin Solus."

Garrus was surprised, "No way, the one who used to serve in the STG? If he's here, why-"

"I tried to recruit him earlier, but the guy's stubborn to a fault. He rejected my offer, saying that the patient to doctor ratio here's too high for him to venture on dangerous missions with questionable chances of return."

"Think Saren can convince him?"

"No. The old guy is hardcore by anyone's standard. I'll be heading down there soon to pull Saren out of the fire before he gets too pushy. Or we'll be scraping his charred remains off the floor before the day's over."

"Need some help?"

"No." a weary sigh followed as he stood up to leave the mess hall.. word was already getting around about a fiery discussion going on in the medical wards, "Just focus on getting Liara on board the mission, okay?"

"... Got it."

* * *

Ten minutes later.

Location: 10th floor.

Getting there was not the hard part. It was just two floors up from where he met Tali. Garrus' relaxed his posture while waiting for the elevator to arrive at the designated floor, though technically it is more proper to call it a sub-level due to most of the structure being situated underground. Only the very top of the facility poked above the surface.

Once in the tenth floor, he passed through a couple of corridors before finding the main chamber in this part of the complex. A large spherical room filled with interlinked circular platforms that surrounded a bunch of databases what resembled a small city, containing miniature versions of various Prothean structures, all covered by geometric lines that continually pulsed a bright green light. It was almost welcoming to the eye for some reason.

But then he'd look at the one sitting at a nearby control panel and the place suddenly felt _that much colder_. A young asari – by asari standards at least – sat there, her attention utterly focused on the screen in front of her.

No one else could be seen, so Garrus quietly wondered if most of the eggheads are focusing their effort on exploring the facility before browsing through the contents of what they've found so far. Well, all except this one.

He approached her almost silently, not wanting to disrupt such fervent concentration. But in the end, he had to.. "Liara T'Soni?"

The girl barely acknowledged him with a twitch of her right hand.. and nary a nod. "If you're here on Benezia's order, leave." she told him, not once taking her eyes off the screen. "Tell her I'm busy."

Garrus frowned, "Easy now. I'm here for a completely different reason." taking a few steps closer to look over her shoulder, "What is it you're watching?"

"Footage." Liara responded simply, "The Protheans established this outpost to observe a sapient species native to the third planet. Back then, they were little but hunter-gatherers."

"I see." the turian whispered, "Too bad they're gone now.."

"Who, the Protheans, or the primitives?"

"I'd like to say both.. But at least the Protheans impacted the galaxy greatly after their demise. But the primitives died off without leaving much beyond ruins on their home planet." Garrus replied with a thoughtful hum, "As they say; to be forgotten is worse than death."

Liara looked up and finally turned, "That's... true. If only I could learn more about them. But after what happened to Dr. Mornoa... and his team..."

"But you would like to go there someday?"

"... If it is possible... yes." she raised a quizzical eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

"I think an introduction is in order; I'm Garrus Vakarian.. Me and my comrades in arms happen to be gathering a team for a covert ops with the purpose of finding out what happened down there. We could really use your help."

"You want me?" taking what sounded very much like an offer in stride.

Garrus nodded very firmly, "Yes. And without a doubt, it's going to be a dangerous mission. But the potential payoff could be huge. It'll be a great opportunity to study ruins merely centuries old.. with many potential treasures just _waiting_ to be found."

"Yes, it does sound like one. But what of my mother..?"

"My comrades are both Spectres. And if you want to join us, then there's nothing your mother can do to hold you back."

She did seem to consider it very strongly, slowly turning back to the screen and watching the footage. Deep in thought. "A part of me says that I should accept your offer. However, I may have to think through this more first before making my decision."

"It's alright. The mission won't commence until a few days from now. So... will two days be sufficient?"

"Yes. Thank you." she answered kindly.

Garrus exhaled, "Fair enough, looking forward to your favorable response." giving a nod before leaving.

"Later." the asari near-mumbled as she once again immersed herself into her work.

* * *

_Date_: 2nd April, 3573 A.D.

_Location_: Europe – Northern dome in Scandinavia.

Both a village and a fortress, the Northern dome is one of five habitats on Earth that serves as the home of the Dôji. Each located at largely undisclosed locations that is unknown to all but the fewest in order to maintain secrecy. Each dome was constructed through excavation and construction crews being transported directly into hollow pockets deep within mountainous regions through Grand aspect Ultimo's spatial techniques. Only way to exit the cities are through the use of specialized spatial transit hubs. Otherwise, one would have to physically dig a way out.

Being few and static in numbers, the aspects often move around in order to maintain a presence in all of the domes. Only the Grand aspects remains largely stationary, being seated in the largest dome in 'Dôjidom'; Center dome.

Currently, three aspects lives in the Northern dome.. each with their own great responsibilities. One of them, the aspect of Patience; Pardonner, currently sits in his office.. with the hustle and bustle of the metropolis visible from the the window situated along the wall behind him.

He was busy as always, and did not have the luxury of enjoying the view as he toiled his way through today's worth of paperwork, while his assistant; Daos, ran about to complete various tasks given to him. In stature, the minor dôji was similar to Regula, but with a more demonic appearance.

However, he expected the aspect of Wisdom, Sophia, to arrive soon. To talk about the strange encounter that occurred days ago. Promina, one of the minor dôji under Orgullo's command was wise enough to send a report about what happened. Sophia took it seriously from the start and forwarded it to Pardonner, who in turn dispatched a recovery squad to Luxembourg for the purpose of bringing back anything out of the ordinary: Alien bodies, and unfamiliar technology.

He wished that more among the more studious aspects would convene alongside them. But most of the others are already busy, either because of the sheer importance of their tasks, or because of the ongoing war. Which left just him and Sophia.

Eventually, just as his current work-session came to a close, the hospital's receptionist called in; "Sir. Aspect Sophia has arrived, and wishes to see you."

"Send him in." Pardonner answered, and got up, circling the stable after inserting his forearms into his broad and angular gauntlets. And took a moment to look over the bump on his right gauntlet, during which the fellow aspect finally arrived. "Been five months since last time, hasn't it?" he asked.

"Old friend." Sophia replied with a quiet as they immediately greeted one another with a warm and welcoming hug, which only lasted for a couple of seconds before they parted and moved on. "So, did your crews find anything?"

"What little they could. The kurozu went back after the battle to gather up everything they could, from the looks of things." Pardonner brushed past Sophia and gestured for him to follow.

It did not take long for them to arrive at the morgue, which was one of the least maintained rooms in the facility due to the general lack of organic life outside specialized shelters in the wake of the human-machine war. Patients and workers alike respectfully stepping out of the way also shortened the time getting there.

Inside, only a few lights seemed to work, and the place carried numerous signs of having been hastily cleaned recently. Machines quietly hummed, as to keep the room refrigerated. "Here we are..." Pardonner said while approaching one of the closets, and extracted a long and elongated body from one of them. Placing it down promptly on a nearby table, "This is the only body we managed to find." and gestured to the region where the head was supposed to be.. "We couldn't even find this one's head."

"... It'll have to do. What can you tell me about it?" Sophia asked as she went to stand on the other side of the table, examining the body that unbeknownst to them used to be Maelon.

"Well, it's certainly not human. And it's not a mutant." the aspects are the only dôji old enough to have lived back when humanity was still live and well. "There's not even remotely enough biomass outside to sustain cockroaches, so this thing is most definitely not of this world. As for taxonomy, I believe it's an amphibious species."

Sophia payed rapt attention to what his friend revealed to him, "I see. The report written by Promina described two other species: One that looked mammalian, and one with avian traits."

"Yes, but the kurozu got there before we could, mind you."

"Why would they gather those bodies? They don't care for organics of any form."

"I can only guess as to their motives." Pardonner told him while not taking his eyes off the body, "Maybe they wish to alter and modify the poison gas they adore so much, so it'll affect the aliens."

Sophia nodded grimly, that made sense. Back during the human-machine war, the kurozu fought by either using Nuclear weaponry, poison gas, or sheer attrition through deployment of veritable oceans of guns and claws. Or when they felt particularly sadistic, they would use all of these in rapid succession. "Anything else?"

"Well..." Pardonner turned away and fetched something from a nearby closet.. placing a few items down on the table next to the body. "The alien was equipped with these items. Now this..." he pointed out one of them.. "I've only done some preliminary tests on this one.. but it contains a wealth of information. Since it was attached to the collar of the alien's suit, I'm guessing it's some sort of translator."

Sophia hummed, "That does sound possible. The chances of them having a common language is terribly small, it'd make sense to use such devices in order to ease communications."

"Yes, and I believe we're going to need something like this if we are to communicate with the aliens at some point. Just need to find out how to add our language to the program."

"Can you do it?" Sophia asked interestingly.

A firm nod came from his friend.. "I can try."

"Good. What can you tell me about the other items here?"

"Not much about the rest... except this." Pardonner put his right gauntlet onto the table and detached his arm from it. Proceeding to pick up a strange device consisting of a series of interconnected rings and snaked his free arm into it until he could curl his hand around the handle at the end. The dôji paused for a moment as the device adjusted itself to Pardonner's arm before he tightened his fist.

Sophia's eyes widened upon seeing a brightly glowing gauntlet made out of pure energy pop into place, surrounding his friend's arm. "What is that..?" he asked, fascinated by the sight.

"Don't know.. but it is some kind of tool. So far I've only managed to make it do this.." tapping a series of buttons until a light erupted from the tip of the gauntlet. "See? A flashlight."

"Nice. So it's a tool with multiple functions, kind of like our gauntlets?"

"Don't know, possible.. but I can't read the language." he raised his shoulders for a second.

"Then we'll have to do it the hard way."

"Random, you mean?"

"Short of learning the language, what choice do we have?" Sophia sighed, "But lets be careful. If it starts making weird noises, throw it away."

The two dôji moved in close to one another so they could both see the strange interface.. "Okay. Lets try this one, okay?"

Sophia gave a curt nod as he pressed it. Nothing happened, but a series of options became available. Humming a low tone, he tried one of them. Opening an image that showed the table they're standing next to.. "Hmm.. looks like a camera."

"... How about this then?" Pardonner asked, pressing a series of buttons until the camera was replayed by footage that showed a clogged vent. "Seems like this one found a well-preserved leftover of the poison that the kurozu used during the war."

"With some enthusiasm, I hear." Sophia said, pointing out the voice that probably belonged to this alien.

"Hmm..."

They spent nearly twenty minutes going through the functions and examining the contents until they finally arrived at the final option. And like it often does, the best comes last.

An image of the Solar system popped into view. Causing both aspects to pause before going further. This image provided them with a touchscreen.

"Interesting..."

Pardonner scrolled to the outer edge of the system, finding something odd about a particular detail. The icon where the moon Charon's supposed to be looked different from the rest of the celestial bodies within the system. He gave the icon a prod.. the enlarged picture brought great pause to both.

"What's that?" Sophia asked, his eyes looking like they'd pop out any second now. His voice filled with awe.

What they saw was a true marvel of engineering, hanging in space above Pluto. A huge construct that consisted of two long and curved metal 'arms' with a set of revolving rings between them, which in turn contains a massive glowing core of some kind.

"Can't believe this.." Pardonner huffed in disbelief, "How could a thing like this go unnoticed for so long?"

"The location fits though, maybe it used to be encased within the moon itself?" Sophia suggested, seeing as Charon's missing.

His friend thought intensively about it, "... That's possible. But question is... what is it?"

"I don't know. Could be a weapon for all we know."

"Indeed. Any possibility of it being a base though?"

"I don't see how.. look." Sophia turned the image, gesturing at various places.. "There's no docking areas. No entrances whatsoever."

"You're right. But if the aliens have any bases at all, we must find out where they are." Pardonner zoomed the image away from the strange artifact so that they could search the rest of the system.

They checked the celestial bodies closest to the artifact first, and found nothing of note. Only small amounts of data that couldn't hope to match the amount of information gathered by late humanity. The failure to find any kind of alien installation in the outer system eventually left them to search inwardly. Past Saturn, past Jupiter, past the Asteroid belt. It couldn't possibly be any on Mercury and Venus. So the only remaining options consisted of Earth itself, Luna, Mars and its tiny satellites.

Eventually, only Mars remained. "Here goes..." Pardonner grunted, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he watched Sophia open up the file involving Mars with a sense of foreboding until a dot appeared on Mars' image, close to the location of Deseado crater. A press of the dot confirmed their suspicions. An alien base on Mars.

"Ugh... by Father's hand." Sophia shook his head, "Let's stop for today, we must notify the _big three _about what we've learned so far, right away."

"Agreed. Go. I can't leave the Northern dome right now... you know." Pardonner tilted his head at his left gauntlet, indicating the bump across its palm. "I'll work on the translator while you're gone."

Sophia understood, giving a sympathetic nod before turning to leave, "Alright. I'll come back once I'm done."

"Okay, see you later." Pardonner replied as he removed the interface and put it back down on the table, shoving his right arm back into the gauntlet he put down on the table, and quickly undid the mess from there. Placing the corpse back into storage before leaving with the translator firmly in his grip.

"Sir." Daos stepped into view, "The latest batch of wounded just arrived. They want to see you."

Dôji can usually recover from even dire injuries without assistance. Self-repair, self-maintenance. As long as they have energy, it's not an issue. What doesn't outright kill a dôji, he can eventually recover from. They go to hospitals because these places can supply a great amount of energy to expedite the patients' recovery.

They'll recover even faster than that if receiving treatment directly from the aspect of Patience himself, because of his Noh.

Pardonner sighed as he stepped past his assistant without even looking at him, "Which room?"

"Room sixty-four through seventy." Daos replied, not offended in any way by the aspect's nonchalant mannerism.

"Thanks. Tell them I'll be there soon."

"Yes, sir."

Always something needing done.

* * *

Three hours later.

_Location_: Africa – Savannah highways.

It was daytime, or at least as close to it as it could get with the layer of clouds covering the whole world. The dust had just cleared from the area in the wake of the hectic battle that just took place between dôji forces and one of the many heavy-weight convoys that followed this route. It's a highway that was created by the kurozu specifically for the sake of their Leviathan land-trains. One of the largest types of ground-based vehicles in the world right now. Used to ferry large amounts of cargo across continents.

Each Leviathan's easily eight hundred feet long, and weighs fifty thousand tons without cargo. They very much look like a crossbreed between a tanker, and a bunker on wheels.. With a little bit of hedgehog on top due to dozens of gun-emplacements dotted across their surface. Yet despite their immense size and mass, can travel up to three hundred kilometers per hour.

Plainly, its the type of vehicle that stops for no one. Capable of shattering villages with just the tremors caused by them driving by. But it only_ looks _unstoppable.

A very lengthy stretch of the highway had been ruined after a protracted chase when two dôji battalions ganged up on one of these convoys. The wreckage of gunships and smaller kurozu units covering the distance along with the corpses of ruined Leviathans. Some still sputtering smoke.

Slow, the aspect of Diligence sat on top of one of the hulking vehicles, watching as his and Jealousy's battalions searched through the prolonged stretch of devastation to gather the wounded, and the few that were killed during the battle.

But their sacrifices were not in vain, as there's now one less convoy to ferry mass amounts of ore and fuel to the kurozu factories. All which have been working unusually hard on something lately. This loss will surely slow the enemy down.

However, while he continued watching the scenery, he was approached by the aspect of Envy. "Slow, just received new orders."

"They want us to hit another convoy?" Slow asked as he rose, "That won't be too difficult."

"No." Jealousy shook his head, "For the time being, both battalions will be under my command. You must choose three of your best, and leave for Central dome."

"Central dome.. why?"

"Shit. I don't know.. They say it's important." Jealousy drawled while waving a claw.

Slow did not look very pleased, but he accepted the order anyway. "Sigh, fine. Ridge, Sweeper and Dirge, on me. We're going to Center dome."

"I envy you. You're probably going to receive an important mission." Jealousy spoke flatly.

"If it makes you feel any better.." Slow replied, heading over to the spatial ball that's been summoned for the dead and wounded, "I'd rather be fighting here alongside the rest of my battalion."

Jealousy watched him leave for a moment before he went to prepare and reorganize the troops. With this convoy down, the kurozu are likely to send a recovery force. Time to arrive... one hour at the minimum, plenty of time to prepare an ambush.

* * *

Slow, with the trio of soldiers he had chosen to come with him, paced calmly through the corridor that would lead him to the antechamber of the place only known as 'The Core'. It is basically the closest thing to a palace in 'Dôjidom'. The place was built underneath Central dome. It's no castle, more of a fortress inside another fortress. And its build was simple enough. Nothing grandiose like human palaces of old. Just a few rooms on a single level, with the 'throne chamber' in the center.

He passed at least a hundred guards before finally entering the antechamber, where he found a very old friend; "Sophia. They called you in too?"

"No." Sophia responded with honesty, "I simply brought them information that I found alongside Pardonner. And now, they got a high priority mission that needs to be done. A mission most suitable for you."

"I see." Slow grimaced faintly, and tried to smooth his expression immediately for the sake of appearances. Despite being the most aggressive among the virtues, he's also one of the more elegantly dressed and mannered. The only exception being his face which could very easily twist under the force of a feisty grin.

"Come. Now that you're here, it's time to go in." the aspect of Wisdom briefly glanced at those soldiers Slow brought along. All dôji inevitably wear similar clothing, but each still with characteristics that makes them easily recognizable. Ridge only sticks out in a crowd because of his lofty dreadlocks. Sweeper, with his long scarlet scarf wrapped around his neck. Dirge faintly resembled an olden Samurai with shoulder pads and helmet to match. All three of them stood stiffly at attention.. not because that's what they usually did, but because of the tension in the air. The fact that they'll be following he aspects into the throne chamber to meet with the _big three_ made them stand even stiffer, if that's even possible.

"What's going on?" Slow asked as the two moved on. Matching paces with one another. His soldiers following only with great reluctance, utterly quiet.

The aspect of Wisdom did not answer. The corridor seemed to stretch on endlessly. But they hit and walked through what felt like a wall of liquid just after leaving the antechamber. On the other side, a large chamber opened up before them. The aspects had seen it often enough, but Slow's subordinates were stunned by the sight – and halted clumsily in their tracks.

It wasn't all that much to look at though. The ornamentation of the room largely consisted of a yin and yang, though with the addition of a an additional gray part that took up a third of the space. _The_ _big three_, formally known as the Grand aspects, sat before them.

Ultimo sat to the left. Vice, to the right.

And in the middle, the Grand aspect; Dragon ascendant; Milieu of Moderation rose from his seat, beckoning for Slow and Sophia to come closer. "Good, you're here." a wind passed through the chamber, carrying his words.

"About time." Vice grunted.

Ultimo hushed him down, "Don't be like that. I'm sure he came as quickly as he could."

Choosing to ditch the pleasantries, Slow went right ahead, "And now I'm here. Can you explain why you've called me here?"

Milieu did not seem bothered by how direct Slow went to the point. In fact, he seemed relieved, "Recently, there's been a less than ideal first contact with extraterrestrials."

"Meaning the aliens got slaughtered in the crossfire between Orgullo's battalion, and a horde of kurozu." Vice put it bluntly, slumping in his seat like it's a non-issue.

"A most tragic event." Ultimo verbally brushed his way past Vice. "Pardonner and Sophia investigated what little they could find about the aliens. And discovered these." he waved a hand, and two large images appeared from thin air. Showing the construct, and its location, where Charon used to be. The other displaying the base on the planet Mars.

A smile painted itself onto Slow's expression, "Interesting. What precisely is it you want me and my subordinates to do?" drawing slight attention to the three in the back who all desperately attempted to fade into the background.

"Simply put." Milieu spoke softly, "You are to go and investigate the base on Mars, and find out everything you can about the aliens, and that construct. And for the sake of making the mission brief enough for all involved, you'll be given access to Booster frames."

Slow shivered with some anticipation. There's barely any infrastructure left for the construction of Booster frames, so those that remained are being carefully kept and maintained. They allow for exiting and entering the atmosphere, as well as quick travel between planets without the need of a spaceship.

"And do remember to try and be nice if direct contact happens. Keep damages to a minimum if possible." Ultimo told him gently, pressing his hands together like he's praying.

"Booster frames are already being prepared.." Vice drawled.

"As for translation, Pardonner's currently modifying the one we found to include our language." Sophia added.

"When can we start?" Slow inquired.

Milieu looked back at him, "Tomorrow. No later than that. How you go about gathering information is up to you depending on if the translator's finished by then, or not. Understood?"

"Yes, I understand. And I humbly accept this mission."

"Not that you had any choice to begin with." Vice shrugged.

"I knew you'd like it." Milieu formed a clever grin before tapping a finger down hard a few times, "Now then. We got busy times ahead of us. As usual. So, for now... meeting's adjourned."

Slow and the rest slowly left the way they came, leaving the Grand aspects to continue with their long-distance Noh-related contributions to the ongoing global war.

Finally after having left the Core, Slow finally turned to Sophia who was about to leave for the transit hub. "Sure Pardonner can finish that thing in time?"

"You mean the translator?" Sophia paused to regard him before moving on, "Don't worry. It'll be finished before the launch."

"Sure hope so." Slow turned to his subordinates. All three looked quite crushed, breathing heavily. "Look at you guys. Get your chins back up, so we can go and get some food." being away from all of his soldiers, he felt like drowning himself in food. And once done, pay the local shrine a visit to pray for their well-being.

"Easy for you to say." Ridge coughed as he picked himself up. "But.. whatever. A snack sounds just about right."

And so the aspect moved on with his subordinates in tow. Despite having a mission way out of the ordinary up ahead, he could not help but feel that something bad's going to happen soon.

* * *

**Author notes:**Yeah, this chapter was filled with chatter. Was thinking of a little battle scene involving the mentioned convoy of Leviathans, but then thought better of it. Sufficed to say, the whole idea of the vehicles was inspired by a map on an old Unreal tournament game where players basically fought across a large convoy filled with huge vehicles going ahead at neckbreaking speed. Loved it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Discovery**_**  
**_

* * *

_Date_: 2151 CE. An hour after departing from Mars; mission start.

_Location_: En route to third planet.

"Ten minutes till we arrive." Nihlus announced from the cockpit. The shuttle running so quietly that an intercom wasn't needed at all.

Tali gave a small nod as her eyes remained on the window, watching the stars as she tried to distract herself from how good this little craft is. It's natural for a Quarian to like ships, and this one's a technological marvel. But it ran too quietly for her comfort. It felt like it wasn't moving at all, and it's like something's going to go wrong at any moment. Her hands were itching, trying to keep off the handles, trying to look like she's in full control of herself.

Garrus only looked bored, sitting on the other side of the cabin with one leg over the other, gazing emptily at nothing in particular. Looking like he's about to fall asleep.

Tali wished she could sleep right now. Checking her watch revealed that there's still nine minutes left. That time just couldn't go fast enough. The trip up to this point had been _mostly_ uneventful, except a freak discovery of a few energy signatures that vanished as soon as they detected them.

Absentmindedly, she turned to the Asari on her left. A young one by asari standards in any case, but Tali did not know her real age... or much else besides her name. Garrus was the one who introduced her. She was dressed in a fairly stylized white suit that faintly resembled a coat. It gave her a somewhat professional look.

However, upon closer inspection.. Tali could make out the signs of bruises, like the asari had gone through a fight recently.. "Excuse me, you came to the briefing right after a fight?" '_yeah, really smooth, Tali..'_ she cursed to herself. Of all the topics she could have asked about, it had to be about something that would be better off left alone.

Liara gave her an odd look that plainly told her to avoid asking about exactly that until the asari suddenly decided to answer it anyway, "Told my mother before I came that I decided to take part in this expedition. She was _not_ happy." she paused and shuddered, "And when she couldn't convince me with words, she tried to do so by force. Barely slipped away."

Tali's eyes widened. To go up against a matriarch and get away with only a few scratches ain't no small feat. "You must be very brave to refuse your mother's wishes. I would never even dare to think about going up against my own father."

"I'm just tired of being over-protected. She's treating me like I'm just a fifty year old child."

The quarian grimaced. Fifty years. Many of the species she knew of would have been middle-aged at around that age. But an asari could easily live for over a thousand years. It _sounded_ great. But Tali wasn't sure if that's a curse, or a boon in the end. A long life has its merits, but too much of it...

"Did not get such treatment." Tali leaned forward and gazed down at her boots, "Mother died due to a plague. And father showed his love by working even harder.. He's one of the Admirals."

"So we both got a high-standing parent, while the other one vanished along the way. I never knew my 'father'.. We just got different upbringing."

"I probably had it a little easier than many others since I'm the daughter of an Admiral. But, I ended up waiting eagerly for my pilgrimage. Wanting to get away from the crowds."

"And I prefer studying about ancient cultures in relative solitude." Liara spoke slowly, folding her arms.. "Well, Tali. It would seem we have some similarities and interesting contrasts."

Tali smiled in response, "So it would seem."

"Such a coincidence." she raised a hand, "Here's for a productive journey."

"You meant to say, friendship?" the quarian asked as she performed the same gesture, reached her hand to Liara and gripped it. And shook it.

"You could say that."

"Oh.. bonding, are we?" Saren asked as he entered. "Don't let it get in the way of your duties." His voice stuck between a chuckle and a strict groan. But it was clear from the start that he ain't a party animal of any kind. His face looking downright horrific even to one who's relatively used to turians. Head looking more like a cranium with strangely hollow eyes that glowed deep inside with a sort of ruthless intelligence that is unusual, even among Spectres. More a demon than a mortal. And those recent injuries he got through an argument with Mordin Solus back at the base did nothing to improve his looks. In fact, only made him look worse. Saren halted just after he spoke to place a hand against one of the patches, as if it's the only thing that stopped half his face from falling off. Despite this facial damage, he still went ahead to launch this mission. Did not let the injuries hinder him.

Tali did not like him. Every time their eyes meet, his grows cold. But they seemed to go cold with every non-turian he met. And every turian he disapproved of. He's probably the kind of guy that would even scowl menacingly at his own mother.

"Nothing wrong with camaraderie, Saren." Liara replied in turn, largely unfazed.

A low thud reverberated through the craft's hull as it slowed down. The blur of stars beyond the window becoming clear again. In the distance, she could faintly see the third planet's moon. Only visible from this angle due to hiding the stars it hid behind itself.

Saren managed to chortle raggedly, "But too much of it-" and was interrupted mid-sentence as Nihlus suddenly exclaimed something in wonder, "What is it?"

"This has got to be a mistake.." the fellow spectre blurted out, "Sensors are going ballistic. Benezia's report spoke of energy readings... but this." a hard noise could be heard as Nihlus tapped a finger hard at an instrument in the cockpit, as if trying to convince the blasted thing that the readings must be wrong.

"What is it?" Saren repeated, annoyed as he half-turned and stared holes into the door he just came through.

"Saren... the amount of energy readings are... insane. _How_ did the inhabitants manage to _hide_ this?! Even Illium would look uninhabited compared to this.."

Saren turned on his omni-tool and had his fellow spectre forward the information to him. After a moment of analysis, he nodded... "Where are these readings coming from? Mornoa's reports described the planet as desolate, radiation-scarred world."

There was a pause as he and the women waited expectantly, "I... don't know. The planet fits the description... but, it's as if they're cloaked."

"... Does this change our mission parameters, Saren?" Liara inquired.

"No." Saren shrugged, "It doesn't change anything. People were killed here by the inhabitants, whoever or whatever they are. So, mission is still a go."

Liara and Tali nodded grimly in response. Garrus did likewise though he was outside Saren's field of vision.

"Nihlus, start the descent. Touch down five kilometers of where the _Uncovering sight_ landed. We'll go the rest of the way on foot." Saren was interrupted from going any further when Nihlus let out an exclamation while the shuttle banked to the side, pieces of debris passing the passenger compartment at a frightening speed. No doubt the shuttle's mass effect field would ward off most of the space junk, but some of the bigger pieces out could potentially cause great damage if they collided with those things.

"Sorry, Saren." Nihlus expressed his apology, "But we're inside a field of space junk. The sensors did not even pick it up at all."

"No wonder.. most of it's too small to register since the mass effect fields of most ships are more than capable of handling it." Tali noted as she leaned closer to the window to observe, seeing a few wrecked satellites. "But the remains of satellites are strangely clustered in this area, I have to say." and by strangely, she meant excessively. Space is a huge place, and even in orbit it should be extremely difficult to stumble close enough to actually see an object with one's bare eyes. And here, she could already see several. It made no sense to be clustering them like this. She was about to ask out loud about this when Saren sharply cut her off with an order directed at Nihlus.

Nihlus responded in the affirmative as the shuttle continued banking side to side to avoid hitting the most significant debris, but along the way he strayed too close to one of them. The field surrounding the shuttle flared brightly as an object almost touched it before being shoved aside.

And so, as the shuttle continued towards the planet below, the object – an old weather satellite – was activated by the freak accident and began to transmit information to the surface. To whatever is still capable of receiving it.

And so, unknown to Saren and his crew, the factions of the planet slowly became aware of their presence.

And far away from their location. In the very city they sought to approach... something stirred.

* * *

_Date_: 5th April, 3573 A.D.

_Location_: Northern dome; hospital.

The dôji under his immediate care whimpered softly, gripping the bed sheet while wriggling the stump of what's left of his left arm whilst gazing up at the aspect of Patience with such pleading eyes. Dôji aren't organic, but that did not mean they can't feel pain.

A low gasp came from his patient as Pardonner raised his unoccupied gauntlet over his patient, casting a shadow across most of the bed. So big and splendid it is, and other patients watched in mild admiration. The palm of it glowed with its own gentle lights before segments shifted into an array, bathing the patient in a pleasantly warm green light. The soldier groaned and writhed as the aspect's Noh aided in his recovery, allowing the arm to regenerate quickly, followed quickly by a new gauntlet wrapping itself around the restored limb.

Once the treatment was finished, Pardonner stopped and took a step back. The patient did not whimper anymore and looked to his healed arm with amazement and relief before rolling off his bed. His eyes momentarily on the aspect before trying to embrace him in gratitude.

But Pardonner smoothly sidestepped, avoiding the intended hug. He did not have time for the adoration his patients often hurled at him. He only added a pat on the dôji's back before moving on to the next patient, who watched him approach with hopeful eyes. Relieved that the pain caused by the deep diagonal cut across his chest will be gone very soon with the upcoming treatment.

As soon as it began though, he was suddenly approached by Daos, who appeared to be quite distraught. "S-sir." he quacked, looking up at the back of Pardonner's head.

"What is it?"

"Sophia called in. There's been some new development. One of the weather satellites in orbit just activated."

Pardonner froze momentarily before wrinkling his eyebrows in confusion. He thought all the satellites in orbit had been destroyed by the kurozu early on in the war. "... Continue."

"He believes it was caused by a meeting with an incoming alien spacecraft. Intelligence are trying to continue tracking the craft, but have mapped out its current possible flightpath. Which puts its heading somewhat in the direction of Luxembourg."

"... I see. So I'm guessing he's heading in to try and capture the aliens. And that he wants us to make a few rooms ready to house them..?"

Daos nodded eagerly, "That's exactly what he wants, sir."

The tiniest sign of a smile tugged at one side of Pardonner's lips, but it faded quickly.. "Prepare section B. It's largely empty at the moment, so it should do fine. Make sure to assign extra guards as well. I'll be there as soon as I finish here."

"Will be done, sir." the assistant saluted before he waddled out in a hurry. Leaving Pardonner to withdraw his gauntlet as his current patient recovered fully.

The soldier appeared distracted as he pulled himself up into sitting position, until he leaped off the bed and bowed to the aspect before he could move on to the next one in the need of healing, "T-thank you."

Pardonner sighed, and gave the dôji a pat on his head, casting a shadow across the soldier's entire being in the process. "No problem. But you got comrades back in your battalion waiting for your return. If you got time for a thanks, then use it to hurry back."

"Y-yes, sir." the soldier stuttered, and saluted awkwardly before he turned to leave. Leaving the aspect to tend to the remaining three patients of this current batch.

"I expect the same of you three, young souls. We all got our duties. All to one day create a world without the kurozu. A better world." he waved his less-than-able arm, not even able to move his claws.. "No matter what, life _must_ go on."

* * *

Ten minutes later.

_Location_: En-route to last reported location of _Uncovering sight_.

It took a while, but they're finally here. But the world below proved to be a sobering sight. Just like it had been for those who landed previously – only to be slaughtered by an unknown foe. Garrus watched the scenery together with Tali and Liara. The sheer gloominess of it made the atmosphere within the shuttle almost unbearably heavy. A thought to crack a joke only made it halfway to the vocal chord before it was stifled and stomped down like it was a disgusting insect. They're flying above a world-sized grave without a proper tombstone, all alone in the darkness of space. Something in the air demanded that the arrivals show what respect they can.

Liara whispered something too ghostly to actually hear. She itched to get down there and get to work. But ever since they pierced the cloud and saw the darkened world below for the first time, the asari started reciting prayers with a voice softer than he thought possible. He could not hear the words, and yet the prayer stirred something deep inside of him from its slumber. Just a tiny fragment of spirituality. But one that irrevocably left its mark upon him. He did not join her, but he violently curbed anything in him that might be willing to quip something.

"How much further?" Saren disturbed the silence nonchalantly. Not caring for anything but the mission up ahead. Garrus winced, but Nihlus answered without problem.

"Just a little more." the fellow spectre replied.. "We should be there in around- what-!"

Everyone in the shuttle toppled as it banked, much more roughly this time.

Garrus quickly made it a point to shield the more vulnerable quarian and asari. Being much more well-armed and accustomed to rough situations he thought it only proper. The female aliens grabbed whatever they could and held on as the craft shook. Saren shouting back at Nihlus severely; "Report!" no complaint, just straight to the point.

"We're being shot at.. wait one.." the shuttle convulsed. Shaking like a drum as more than a dozen rounds scored perfect hits. The way it tilted showing that at least one thruster had been taken out by the barrage. "D-damn it.. I'm losing her!" Nihlus called out, referring to the shuttle itself as it lost altitude sharply. The horizon outside turning to a most horrible angle as they descended towards the ground below while the turian at the helm fought to compensate, attempting to effect a controlled crash-landing to avoid getting them all killed.

The descent was rapid and Garrus felt himself nearly black out several times until he finally fainted, just as the agonized shuttle hit the ground.

...

He did not know for how long he remained like that. Only that eventually, Tali shook him into consciousness. "Can you hear me, Garrus?" she called out to him, her voice faint.

The turian tried to respond, but groaned in agony as the headache hit him in full force. It felt like there's a thousand krogan dancing polka inside his skull, "... What the hell is polka?"

"What?" the quarian asked, staring down at the floored turian like he suddenly turned insane.

"Never mind.." he groaned, trying to get back up.. "..Is that gunfire I hear?"

"Y-yes.." Tali answered, looking to the shuttle door, which had been forced open after the crash. Liara stood the closest, using some kind of barrel as cover while the others stood further ahead. Firing at something he couldn't see .. "Something's attacking us.. I don't know what it is. But it freaks me out."

Several rounds hit the shuttle and rocked it side to side. That more than anything woke him up.. searching his back for a weapon until he managed to secure a hold on his rifle before getting up. The headache remained, but he fought it to the sidelines before he rushed out.. not even waiting for a proper all-clear signal.

At first glance, it looked like they had crash landed in the middle of a factory, but he had no time to look it over in detail as he looked for the most available piece of cover. Which he quickly found as he slid into position behind a pile of metal beams, and tried to sneak a look at whatever the rest fought back against. At first he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Only a ruined landscape. But then something approached them.. not directly in plain view, but moved around underground. Its position indicated by the vast amounts of dirt it kept kicking up into the air.

From the looks of it, it had been circling around the area, piercing the surface every few seconds. Doing it so easily that it looked as though it's swimming. And every time it surfaced, something popped up and fired at them. Before he knew it, the thing had fired a massive barrage that peppered their cover, and nearly perforated Liara's. Only with the last bullet did Saren lean out and fire at the monster before it dived below ground again, without taking any hits at all. "What the hell is that thing?!"

"We have no idea. But my gut feeling says that's the thing that shot us down!" Nihlus called back as he fired a shot, and promptly ducked before a pair of high-caliber rounds passed, right where his head used to be. "But... the better question is.. how do we deal with this thing!"

Saren paused as he turned his eyes to the building behind them, a storehouse from the looks of it. Quickly, he tossed a glare at Tali, "We should retreat for now. Quarian, open up this set of doors."

"Go, we'll cover you!" Garrus hastily added as he got up and fired again, aiming ahead of the advancing track of dirt in an attempt to suppress the enemy.

Tali glared back at Saren again and muttered very quietly that he should go and do it himself. But relented nonetheless, as she disengaged from her cover and dashed for the massive doors behind them, for a moment trying to jerk it open before deciding - with a flurry of bullets that nearly hit her despite the others attempt at suppression fire, to go about it in a much more aggressive way. Placing a grenade against the lock before backing away until it went off, and nearly blew half the door off its hinges. "Got it!" she bellowed and moved in.

The asari was more than eager to follow as she pulled back next and hurried in, ducking her head along the way to prevent getting shot in the back. Then the turians moved in, one by one until everyone had gotten themselves inside.

The adversary released a high-pitched metallic whine, and gave chase. Rushing the building like a torpedo.

Unfortunately for the team.. the storehouse was completely empty, with no cover available. However, they found a door which led to a corridor that ran from the storehouse and to the main building. With the creature coming in, the group quickly fled through it. Saren – being the last one in – shut the door before following the rest. Hoping that it'll slow the thing down.

"Hopefully..." Liara panted softly along the way, their feet stomping at a floor made of solid metal, "Hopefully it won't get through this floor.."

But as if to confirm that it's no great hindrance, bullets punctuated the walls behind, forcing them to quicken their pace.

"No, b-but it's no problem shooting through the wall." Nihlus groaned, desperate for a target he could actually shoot instead of this ghost-like underground threat. Only pure survival-reflexes kept him from stopping to attempt firing out the windows. The others had no such problems though, and made haste as a large hall opened itself to them.

This new room was filled with machinery meant for mass production of vehicles, according to the numerous rusty hulks that covered the long and broad remnants of the conveyor belt in the middle. The whole place was wrecked, not just from age.. but the sheer chaos plus the large hole in the roof explained that it had been bombed at some point. And no one had bothered to even try fixing it. On the other hand, the ruins provided an enormous amount of cover. Almost to the point of forming an haphazard trench that ran throughout the room. And both the walls and floor appeared to be plated with generous layers of a type of alloy the team did not have the time to analyze.

A mighty crash could be heard behind them. With few ways in, their enemy opted for rushing right into the complex through the corridor, currently tearing apart the door on the far end of it.

"Get into cover!" Saren bellowed while he and Nihlus slammed the door shut to buy them some more time, "I want all guns directed at the door! If that bastard as much as pokes its face into here, I want it dead!"

They hurriedly spread out, and got behind anything that looked like it could withstand a great amount of punishment, and aimed their weapons at the door, which got bent inward the exact moment they got into position. The door twisted with a screech before it was thrown down, allowing the horror beyond to crawl in.

Garrus gaped at it momentarily before pulled the trigger, the whole team raining fire on the monster as it was finally caught in the open. "It just _had_ to be a synthetic..." he drawled.

The machine wriggled with only the front-most part of its body sticking out of the corridor. It looked terrifying.. It was shaped much like a centipede. Its head heavily armored with ruby compound eyes, and gigantic pincers that clacked together. Its 'mouth' built like a grotesque meat grinder. Every segment of its body covered with two high-caliber guns. One at the top, and one at the bottom. All of them strangely primitive compared to the rest of it. Not that it helped them in any way.

They kept firing at the head, and yet all it did was to shake its head in annoyance. "Keep at it!" Saren shouted. The centipede however latched its legs against the walls and pulled itself steadily out of the corridor. Revealing more and more segments, with more gun turrets firing back at the organics that now began to fall back in desperation. The thing followed the wall, trying to use the sheer length of its body to box them in.

Garrus looked to where Saren tried to climb for a higher vantage point, only to be forced back down into cover as the withering volumes of fire directed at their positions intensified. "...Incredible... can't even get a single shot in."

But eventually, someone got barely enough elbowroom to get up to fling a grenade at the machine, striking and detonating the joint between two of its segments, cleanly breaking the thing in half. Much to the gratification of those who could see it.

But the machine itself released a deep-sounding alarm as it hefted itself, and leaned itself halfway across the room. Looming over the aliens as several of its limbs swiveled to aim at them. Garrus realized its intent too late as the limbs stretched at the speed of a bullet and punched cleanly through the front of his helmet, though without even touching his face. Exclamations coming from all around him indicated something similar happened to the others. A panicked shriek came from Tali as her visor was destroyed.

Garrus was mystified, if it could do this.. why not go all the way?!

But unfortunately, it showed the reason why as its head suddenly convulsed before launching some sort of canister that came apart the moment it hit the floor. From it, a sickly green mist blasted forth. Quickly engulfing most of the room.

"P-poison gas!" Liara gasped as she desperately tried to close the opening that had been carved open in her suit, allowing the mist to pass through. The asari coughed hard as her body tried to forcefully push away the poison before she collapsed.

He realized it in that instant as he fell onto his side, twitching almost uncontrollably as he fought back against the effect of the weapon it just deployed. The thing's a _sadist_. It wants to see them _suffer_ before they die.

A shadow fell over him as the machine loomed threateningly over him. The meat-grinder in its mockery of a mouth burst into motion while elongated metallic tentacles reached down to curl around the turian. He wondered quietly which would kill him first.. the grinder, or the poison? "... Fuck... you..." he groaned in defiance. Just before a hole was suddenly blown through its head.

The centipede-like machine was hurled away by the blast and released a nearly ear-splitting shriek, dropping the turian, who struggled – investing all of his remaining strength to find out what in the world just managed to cause that kind of damage to it.

And as if fate wanted to make it easier for him, a figure landed almost right in front of him. A relatively short and cloaked figure, with a magnificent golden mane, and crystal-clear blue eyes with golden pupils. He noticed that there are several more around the room .. yet he couldn't tear his gaze away from the one standing between him and the centipede as it returned, as if in a complete frenzy, stretching itself into the air to make itself more imposing. All of its weapons all focused on this one being.

The turian could not help but marvel at how the machine's able to remain functioning even with a hole placed cleanly through its head. Maybe the core is in some other segment.

But instead of going back into cover, the person with the golden mane leaped into the air with such force that the floor crumpled into itself, and so fast that the machine's guns barely managed to keep up with it. The being raised an arm out of the cloak and brandished an ornamented gauntlet, that suddenly shifted and transformed into a much larger set of curved claws – and raked the machine with it. The middle claw landing right in the middle of the centipede's ruined caricature of a face, and traveling down, cleaved the machine nearly all the way to the blown stump in the end. The two rough halves crashing promptly into the floor. Though incredibly, one side still twitched as it struggled to remain functional. Only stopping once the being moved to the side and plucked something out of it.

He finally fell to the floor as the poison took its toll on him, though the fall was broken when someone caught him gently. But see who it was, he could not. As he finally lost consciousness, he could hear one speak up in an alien tongue. With such a strangely angelic voice:

"_Take them, and bring them to Pardonner.. We don't have much time._"

* * *

_Location_: Northern dome; Hospital; Intensive care.

The room was deathly silent. Every sound made echoed and cascaded through the chamber like a thunder. Within, five beds had been prepared for the aliens that just arrived. Each and every one surrounded by machines that monitored their biological data without missing a thing. Dôji workers drifted quietly around the room, keeping an eye on the instruments and making sure everything moves along without disturbing the patients. Each of them looking terribly pale with the effects of the poison that wracked their bodies with a dedication that made it look like it had been infused with the kurozu's hatred of all life.

Pardonner watched over them solemnly as he moved around the beds. For now, he focused his attention on studying their bodies. Gathering biometry data. Mapping the extent of how much the plague had spread through the bodies of its victims. He overlooked nothing, no matter how trivial. One miscalculation and the treatment could prove hazardous to their health as well. One of the females appeared similar enough to humans, but he wouldn't take any chances.

He spared a glance up at Sophia, who sat in the observation deck. Watching intently. "Can they be saved?" the aspect of Wisdom asked.

Pardonner gave a nod, "Yes. We're in luck The enemy in this case was an old model, as were the poison it was armed it. Given enough time, it can still kill them in more than one way – but I can deal with it before that comes to pass.."

Sophia exhaled in relief, "Good. Make sure they live."

"Don't worry." the aspect looked to those around him, making sure they're still at it before moving on.

The one who received most of attention though, was the alien female with the tight-fitting environmental suit that the dôji had trouble removing without damaging it. Pardonner still remained rather confused by how weak her immune system proved to be. By the time Sophia and the squad he set out with managed to bring the aliens back, this one was near-death. Only the hasty addition of an immuno-booster – a control mod that hyper-activates, directs and helps the body's immune system identify and deal with threats – kept her from dying.

Pardonner seriously thought about this fragility to the natural world. How it could come about, and so on. But without questioning her about it, theories about it would be just that... theories. Assumptions. Hypothesis. No use mentally bickering about it when one can instead simply ask. He brushed a claw carefully against the small block that rested against the left side of his neck. After having supplied the updated alien translator for the Mars mission, he decided on a whim to make another one in a bit of a hurry, hence it's much less refined.

His eyes gravitated towards her chest as she suddenly took a sharp breath, the instruments signaling heightened activity. _She's waking up? Now?_

It was with a bit of perturbation that he leaned over the body, watching closely as the weakened alien just barely managed to open her eyes. The female recoiled almost instantly as the nausea caused by the poison nearly overwhelmed her. The heart rate skyrocketed in an instant as she panicked. Deeply fearful from waking up to such a condition.. a few incoherent and deeply distraught cries erupting from her throat.

Pardonner reacted quickly even as the area around the bed rapidly became more crowded, those around him murmuring. He held out his able gauntlet above her chest. Using his Noh to beat down the plague's attempt at erecting clogs inside her airwaves. The gentle hum and warmth from its use helping in soothing the alien. And slowly, she relaxed. Much to his enormous relief. The rest watched in fascination, a few applauded.

Almost seconds away from falling asleep, she turned her eyes upon him with such pleading eyes.. He had to lean closer in order to hear what she was about to say; "A-am I going to die?" she managed to whimper just barely.

The aspect paused as he briefly thought about it until he finally flashed a smile, trying to keep it as gentle as possible, "No, you won't." the final bits of the analysis just couldn't finish quickly enough. "We'll get you through this.."

Apparently, it made her feel more at ease. The female slumped against the bed and continued to groan softly, slowly returning to the world of sleep.

"All of you, back to the other beds. They _must_ survive." he told the surrounding mass of dôji to remind them of what they were supposed to do. Realizing this, they hurried back to work. Leaving Pardonner to continue his analysis. In just a few short minutes, the real treatment would commence.

* * *

By the time she opened her eyes again, it felt as though weeks had passed by. Feeling a great thirst accompanied by an aggressive growl coming from the pit of her gut. She chewed absently, as if trying to taste something that was conjured in the last fragment of her dreams. The disappointment palpable on its own once she realized that.

Tali looked up at the roof, and squeezed her eyes shut at the light. Coming from a long and thin stripe that ran across the ceiling from one end to another. And then felt the slight cold upon her skin despite the thick blanket that covered her body... slowly realizing something she did not notice last time she was awake.

Her environmental suit's missing! The only clothes composed of a garment that covered her from the shoulders and down past her knees. No more than that. The quarian felt a spike of panic before calming down at the sensation of... not being sick, despite how exposed she is. She felt the need to get up and find her suit anyway.. but couldn't.

"I... feel so... weak..." Tali groaned so softly that it sounded incoherent at any distance further than a couple of feet. But still, her attempt did manage to pull someone's attention.

"Quarian..." someone spoke up nearby. It was faint, but she knew who that voice belonged to right away, all the way down to the way she was addressed, "You're awake..."

Tali cursed quietly, "... Saren." managing to turn her head to see the neighboring bed. But couldn't see him still. Liara's bed appeared to be right between them. The asari still sleeping.

His bed creaked faintly as the turian struggled to get up, "We... need to get out... of here."

"Huh?"

"You've seen the creatures.." Saren growled.

"Creatures?" Tali asked slowly.. But the turian did not answer immediately as the door was pushed open, allowing entrance to one of the locals. A being of small stature, like a child, with unusually colored eyes, wearing a formal set of clothes. And curiously, what either meant they've got oversized hands... or they simply prefer to wear oversized gauntlets.

She briefly browsed through her memories across the few moments prior when she were just barely awake, and did not manage to recognize this one.

The being – who appeared to be male – seemed rather startled at the attention he got the moment he stepped in. Staring back at them for a moment until he finally seemed to remember what he came here to do, and moved accordingly, if rather stiffly.

He fetched the strange bowls that rested on the small tables between the beds and gathered them into a neat stack before he left and closed the door.

The silence lasted for another few seconds before Tali finally managed to find her words again, "Creatures?! Surely you can't mean_ them_." she hissed, pointing at the door as if the alien still stood there on the other side, "They saved us, remember?"

"Don't be so quick to celebrate, quarian." Saren replied frostily, "I woke up just as we were being moved hereto. Saw many of the creatures quite heavily damaged: Missing limbs, gashes. One even missed most of its forehead, with one eye dangerously close to falling out. Yet no sign of blood. None of them bled. Neither could I see any sign of flesh or anything." he hissed, "And I don't know about you and the rest, but I was able to see as just one of them destroy the machine we had such a hard time fighting with just a couple of hits."

To be frank, Tali had no interest in listening to Saren's rambling and wanted to get away if it wasn't for the things he said. She suddenly got a sinking feeling, "W-what do you mean?"

"We now know the real reason why the natives were destroyed." Saren said in an official though croaking manner, "The enemy we fought earlier, _and_ our supposed _saviors_. They're synthetics, _all of them_."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Escape attempt  
**

* * *

_Date_: 7th April, 3573 A.D.

_Location_: En route to Mars.

Mars, the fourth planet of the Solar system. Named after the Roman god of war. The red planet sat there in the middle of the endless night, glaring balefully as if to pierce through the mysteries of cosmos with its unrelenting gaze.

Slow and his group closed in on the planet at full speed, yet the aspect's mind was occupied by the grandiose view. But the perfect positioning of the now-visible Phobos made it look as if the planet now stared at him specifically. The realization sent shivers through the core of his being.

"Damn.. need to lay off those horror stories." he muttered quietly to himself, getting close to sweating bullets just because of this one coincidence.

"You said something, sir?" Ridge inquired.

"No.." Slow responded, "It's nothing."

The tiny natural satellite, or at least compared to Luna, almost seemed to grow as they rapidly closed in. With a tug of his limbs, the booster frame changed course and swerved away from Phobos before resuming, making a straight beeline for the location on the planet where the alien base's located.

However, in a passing weather analysis, he found it to be covered by a massive sandstorm rolling across the landscape. And that was even before he detected what could be artificial satellites put in place by the aliens, not to mention what looked like ships moving around in rough formation.

It only took a few moments to decide how to go about this. "Same procedure as always, boys. Maximize your speed and cover our approach with a mass projection." Slow told the others as he immediately followed his own order. The booster frame vibrating mildly as afterburners were brought online to achieve maximum thrust. A motion followed by the broadcast of data to make sensors within range see the approaching dôji as naught but harmless meteors.

"Head for the sandstorm at these coordinates. We're not taking any chances." he called out in due turn. Despite prior measures being good enough for insertions like this, it's better to play it safe.

Once again a trio of confirmations responded as they all initiated reentry. The dôji cut power to the thrusters and turned around. The booster frames quickly transforming into what resembled inverted pyramids, creating heat shields to protect against the resulting friction as they descended through Mars' atmosphere.

Slow kind of liked this part, the booster frame felt like a warm bed now. Not uncomfortably so, even for a human. He closed his eyes and relaxed, waiting through the following minutes, letting automatic routines within the booster frame take appropriate measures should any errors occur. He fell thousands of feet before initiating his own boosters for the final approach. His booster frame folding into its inactive backpack form, which was both small and seemingly innocuous.

He and the rest finally plunged into the sandstorm below, and fought the extremely violent wind currents until they arrived at the surface. Momentarily adjusting parameters to adhere to the ground before throwing a glance downwind, where his subordinates knelt down against the ground. "You guys okay?"

Sweeper twitched, "N-no sir." he slowly stood up, while using a gauntlet to shield his eyes from the storm, "I'm fine."

"So am I." Dirge confirmed. Having some difficulties at first keeping himself from getting blown away.

"Ridge?" Slow asked next.

"I can deal.. Really hate all of this sand though." he muttered, he and the rest ending up staring at a big rock as it almost flew past them. "... And I'd love to get away from here."

"We... will." the aspect replied with a reassuring tone as he turned and pointed into the distance, "The base is this way. Keep your feet on the ground and get moving. We'll clear this storm in one go!"

* * *

_Location_: Northern dome, hospital.

It sure took a while, but now it's done.

Pardonner passed through the corridor, carrying along a tray covered with cups of food, some of it which were created through studying and replicating some of the rather unique compositions of the food packages brought by four of the aliens.

It was a miracle by itself to get Paresse's boys to do this. The slothful git being the only one of the sins who prefer to work somewhere he doesn't need to move around at all; chief of food production. The closest thing in dôjidom to traditional farming. And more than a few of his subordinates have decided to pick up Paresse's habits for themselves. Particularly the one that involve leaning against a fence while absently chewing a piece of straw – all day long.

He sighed while pushing the door between him and the aliens open, ready to greet them.. only to find all the beds empty. It took a massive amount of effort to keep himself from dropping the tray as he simply stood there. Until someone arrived behind him.

"S-sir! I'm t-terribly sorry, but the aliens ran away." Daos nervously called out to him, bowing far down to the point of prostrating himself before the aspect.

Pardonner turned slowly to regard his assistant.. "Why's there a bucket on your head?" he asked slowly.

"Ah... this?" Daos laughed, his voice trembling.. "T-they kinda ambushed me.. and then ran for it while I was blinded. They seemed to have memorized the guard patrols in the vicinity, so they did not notice a thing either..."

The aspect wasn't pleased. His scowl said as much, "Raise your head..."

Daos did exactly that, only to be slapped hard across the face and sent flying into the opposing wall.. sagging back to the floor after the impact, his ears probably ringing, "P-please forgive my negligence..." he pleaded after recovering from the blow.

"Just... don't be so careless next time." Pardonner said as he lowered his hand back to the tray, "Did you send the guards to find them?"

Daos bowed immediately, "Yes, I did! I also took the liberty of sending a humble request for assistance from an aspect who just arrived."

"Oh?" the aspect hummed as he tilted his head, "Sophia has returned at last?"

"No, good sir." the minor dôji replied, "It was Désir."

"You asked one of the _sins_ to help with a matter this _delicate_?!" Pardonner nearly shouted spontaneously. "And of all the sins, you asked _Désir_?" His worries about the aliens' safety just increased by an order of magnitude.

Daos sank back against the wall, cowering before the now-furious Pardonner who almost nailed him to the aforementioned wall with a glare.

But just as quickly as his anger flared up, it subsided once again. "I need to get out there. I'll decide your punishment later, so be ready!"

"Y-y-yes!" Daos cried out as he watched Pardonner leave in a hurry, not once lowering the tray he still kept in his hands.

* * *

_Ten minutes earlier..._

"Should we be doing this to our hosts?" Liara asked as she and the others continued their run. Having managed to ambush one of those synthetics, and then followed Saren on the way out as he used some solid timing regarding the guard patrols. They used a side-entrance to escape, and fled through the following alleys that appeared to be largely empty.

No matter how she saw this, it's a pretty half-assed escape. They managed to find their armor, and some weapons. But it's all damaged. Both from the encounter earlier, and perhaps also from back when the locals tried to undress them. Wandering into the wastelands is suicide with their gear in this state.

Yet, she was curious about these locals.

"Please, don't even think about it, Liara!" Tali responded, as she slowed down to a limp while groaning dimly in hunger. "They healed us just so they can interrogate or experiment on us without us dying right away. Of that much, I'm sure."

"What if they did it out of the kindness of their hearts?" Liara tried, slowing down to match Tali's current pace while the turians up ahead made sure to check the area as they passed through it. She had heard that the quarian used to have a high opinion of the locals until Saren told her about their saviors being synthetics, and then made a complete turnaround out of a mix of fear and hatred. Most likely tainted by thoughts about the geth.

The quarian coughed a laugh, "How can you believe that? They're _machines_."

Liara briefly caught a glimpse of the other girl's eyes, wide-open in disbelief. The asari nearly bit her tongue as she prevented herself from trying to argue with her. Deciding that now's definitely not the time.

They continued their run for several more minutes until they were halted. "Get into cover." Nihlus growled at them, and pulled them with him behind a container. The other turians had likewise gone into cover..

Behind them, a trio of locals happened to walk by and looked the area over with alert eyes. The large gauntlets upon their arms configured into odd-looking weapons. Obviously looking for them. The armed synthetics stood there for a little longer before they moved on, and vanished from sight.

"Coast's clear." Saren hoarsely called out, "Press on. We'll plan our next move once we're somewhere relatively safe."

"And where is this 'relatively safe' place?" Tali asked, peering into the distance ahead.

Saren said nothing in reply. Instead, he turned and moved on.

"Get up.. let's go." Liara whispered to Tali, who barely managed to get up on her feet. She understood well the reason. Tali and the turians are all starving, though the latter ones handled it better. Oddly enough, she was the only one who wasn't hungry. Making her quietly wonder if the locals fed her while she slept. The possibility intrigued her.

But she said nothing about it though as they all continued their run through the streets for the next hour until they emerged into what looked like a construction area, which appeared to be largely empty.

"This looks good enough..." Saren muttered as he looked the place over, "We'll rest here for a bit."

"Finally.." Garrus whispered as he shouldered his rifle and sat down. Tali was much more unceremonious about it as she fell down to her knees, and almost doubled over if not for Liara's kind support.

"Sorry about being such a burden, Liara." Tali chuckled dryly as she forced herself into a more dignified sitting position, "I'm so used to at least having one meal a day.."

"No need to apologize." the asari responded with a smile, "Just save your strength."

The quarian nodded meekly, "Thanks, I will."

"So..." Nihlus turned to the rest, "What do we do from here?"

"The possibility is out there, that they found and brought our shuttle here too. If it's true, we need to find it, and a way out of here." Saren replied as he turned his gaze to the sky, though a mountain appeared to be in the way. "It's obvious that this place's underground, so the problem is finding out where the exit is.."

Garrus groaned, "Good plan. The question is, where can we find the shuttle?"

"And we need to find food too, or we won't be able to do much at all." Liara also pointed out.

"We all knew there would be risks." Saren told them with a snarl. "And we discovered a possible threat to the galaxy. So, no matter what. Our top priority involves getting a word out so this threat can be nipped in the bud."

"I agree." Garrus nodded, "Though it doesn't really answer _any_ of our questions." and threw his arms up in the air, though the gesture was more for laughs.

"A map would help if any of the sort exist." Tali almost rasped.

"It'd require a lot of guesswork." Liara shook her head. "It's a literal search for the eponymous needle in a haystack."

"We ain't got much of a choice now, do we?" Nihlus asked with a wry grin. "We just gotta— huh?"

Just as he said it, a figure suddenly crashed into the ground right in the middle of the group. All that Liara could see, was a slender figure with a lot of pink, and a large spherical object on its back. _We've been found!_ She quickly concluded as a rather flamboyant – and strangely exotic-looking – synthetic emerged from the dust cloud that was thrown up by the sudden landing, as if having fallen down from high above them. "_Now, Look what we have here~_" it spoke lustfully in the language these synthetics used. And after a quick glance thrown at everyone around it, reached out to grab Saren, who responded by deflecting one of the gauntlets by shooting it in the palm with his pistol.

Nihlus quickly threw himself into the fray and deflected the other gauntlet with a well-aimed shotgun-blast. Sending the machine stumbling back a step before it recovered, and with a flick of its hips, bumped the oversized tail into the turian and sent him flying. Nihlus let out a loud cough before landing in a heap, fifteen feet away. "_Get in line, I'll play with you in a moment.._" it said with a soft chuckle.

"Damn it.. do not engage in close combat!" Saren shouted the recommendation as he retreated out of the machine's arm-reach. Garrus bought him time to do just that as he shouldered his sniper rifle and shot a bullet at the back of the being's head. It was nudged forward by the blow, yet the bullet looked as though it bounced right off its _hairdo_.

It stopped to rub the back of its head with a large pink and ornamented gauntlet before throwing a rather annoyed glance back at Garrus, who was quick to take a cautious step away. "Uh... yeah. This is going to be a problem."

"_You call that a gun?_" it spoke, the right arm quickly reconfigured into what looked like a skull, with a barrel between its jaws. The robot proceeded to aim it at the ground a little bit away from Garrus' feet, "_This, is a gun!_"

All Garrus knew was that the enemy fired a shot at the ground, followed by the turian being sent spinning through the air by the resulting blast wave as the robot's shot struck the ground with the impact and explosive force of a mortar round, but without the resulting shrapnel.

He landed clumsily on the ground while the robot turned its attention back to Saren, who shot it repeatedly even as it approached, and lunged the final distance, delivering a punch to the spectre's abdomen. And it obviously made sure to hold back its strength to avoid killing the alien in a single blow. Saren slumped against the fist, and spat some blood at the ground. Stunned for a few moments before he finally managed to 'wake up' and struggled to get away. "M-monster..." he managed a groan while staring into the robot's burning red eyes, who was delightfully fascinated by the drops of blood before turning its attention back to him with a voracious grin.

It did not manage to do any further damage to Saren though before the robot was catapulted into the air by Liara's biotics. The synthetic flailed in bewilderment at a form of attack unlike anything it had seen before, until the effect of the strange field began to dissipate.

By then, Nihlus had managed to recover and ran to haul Garrus back on his feet, his eyes instantly meeting those of the asari and quarian.. "Use another one, and then scatter! We need to get away from this thing!"

Liara focused for a moment with such intensity that sweat trailed down her skin as she next pictured a singularity in her mind, and deployed it just a couple of meters from the synthetic's position. She did not wait to see the effect, instead turning to run after pulling Tali up.

The asari ran as if on autopilot for what felt like a long time as she sought to get away from the thing that had so suddenly appeared in their midst, running around various corners of the alleys between the buildings until finally feeling safe enough to slow down. She tried to listen for any sign of a threat, but nothing.. "There.. I think we lost them, Tali... Tali?" she turned to look at where the quarian's supposed to be, only to see that her comrade's nowhere to be found. And it finally dawned upon her that she had left the quarian behind without realizing it.

The sudden loneliness made it feel as though the walls tried to close in and crush her body into powder.

"W-what have I done?"

* * *

"L-Liara, where are you?" Tali asked as she leaned against the wall, staring fearfully into the distance. Having lost track of the asari completely during their escape. All it took was to stumble once, and she ended up all alone. Alone in a place filled with synthetics that are apparently bullet-proof.

She knocked her head against the wall, hoping that this was only a dream. And that she would awaken back in the prothean archive on the fourth planet, surrounded by the idiots who hounded her so often, just for being a quarian. But at least she could deal with them. Her horror was great when she saw the bullet from Garrus' sniper rifle bounce off of the back of the synthetic's head at near-point blank range.

Tali picked up her pistol from her holster and stared at it. A weapon that now looked little better than a pea-shooter. Only a sense of duty kept her from putting a single bullet to a very specific use, and holstered the weapon, if only with great reluctance.

She took a step forward, and almost instantly keeled over as a certain organ inside her cried out like a caged beast. "Oh, come on..." Tali muttered while clutching her abdomen, "Get moving, I can't stop here. Keelah..."

What really made the pain recede wasn't the thoughts of what could happen if these synthetics got off this planet, but a lovely scent that tickled against her nose. Such a good aroma that the quarian managed to get up, if just to find out where it's coming from. Making it awfully clear which organ's calling the shots now.

Quietly, Tali followed the scent and soon arrived at a door that willingly and quickly slid aside so she could enter the building. The smell only grew stronger after entering. The door slid shut just as quickly the moment she fully crossed the threshold, but she ignored it.

She sniffed deeply at the enticing fragrance. Something this sweet could only possible come from food. But the quarian wondered, why would the synthetics care about making food? Maybe they keep organic slave labor?

Curiosity becoming one of the driving forces in this little quest. Soon arriving at the door leading to a much larger one, and only barely managed to keep herself from entering it the moment she realized that there are people inside. All of them synthetics.

But the shocking fact was that they are _eating _food fit for organics. All color drained from her face as she backed away, utterly horrified by what she beheld. And accidentally bumped into a waiter who had just come out of the kitchen.

She whirled around, plucked out her pistol, and planted several bullets into its chest.

The synthetic – one small of stature – stumbled backwards, dropping the tray it held and spilling the food and drinks across the floor as it was attacked by the panicked alien. Though it sustained minimal damage, it turned and fled quickly into the kitchen.

"_What the hell just happened?_" someone asked, startled by the sudden noise.

"_I don't know, but I got shot at!_" the waiter shouted back in turn.

A spent thermal clip clattered to the floor, followed by a snap as Tali fed a new one into her weapon while running back the way she came, only to find another of them standing at the exit. She ignored the bewildered look in its face and forced her way through another door, only to end up at a dead-end. Turning around only revealed that a crowd of them now stood just beyond the door, all staring at her with a mix of curiosity and surprise.

Reaching out, she accidentally bashed her elbow into a panel and both closed and sealed the door in their collective face. Though it did not remove the fact that she's completely trapped now. Just because her belly overthrew the brain for an instant. The quarian sank against the wall, and as futile as it seemed, aimed her gun at the door. Daring it to open.

In this darkness she waited. How much time passed, she quickly lost track off. All she could do was stare at the door, her mind strangely empty of thoughts. With no idea of how to get out of this, until a voice came from the other side of the exit: "_So, she's here?_"

"_Yes. The alien's armed too. And frightened, I reckon._"

"_I see._" the other one spoke. Tali tensed as she listened, "_Go and resume your work. I'll take care of this from here.._"

The silence returned before a set of claws suddenly stabbed clean through the door and moved to force it open.

Exhaling a shrill gasp, she pulled the trigger and fired all but one of the available bullets on this clip, only to see every one ricochet off the claws and embed themselves into the surrounding walls, floor and ceiling. Tali swallowed nervously. Afraid of being boiled alive or something like that, having seen what they eat. She pulled back the gun and aimed it at the side of her head, ready to pull the trigger just as the door was fully pushed aside to reveal the synthetic she saw that one time while sick. But before the trigger could be pulled, it shoved the rest of the gauntlet through the door and struck a claw straight through the weapon, shattering it before a bullet could be discharged.

Tali sat there, realizing now that she's utterly defenseless, and bereft the only quick way to end this without anymore suffering. Now only able to glare defiantly at the other as it approached, blocking the now-open door. Expecting an attack, but was instead handed a bowl in a nonchalant manner.

"Go ahead, eat." it told her. The words translated perfectly, "It's edible.."

Tali lowered her gaze to the bowl, which contained something that resemble the typical rations she typically subsisted on during most of the pilgrimage up till now. "W-why should I believe you? It's probably poisoned."

"You don't know that." it replied calmly.. "All you can do is trust."

"And why should I trust you? You turned on and destroyed your creators."

It blinked at that, as though offended by the notion. "We did not destroy the humans. The kurozu did. Now, eat. I don't know how long members of your species can survive without food, but I'd rather not wait to find out."

"The kuro-?" Tali blinked as the bowl was brought closer, close enough to see the spoon in it.

"My name's Pardonner." it said with a small smile.. "Come on. We don't have all day. Can't predict what Désir will do to your comrades if I don't catch up to him soon. He gets bored very easily."

She did not know why she did it, but went and accepted the bowl with utter awkwardness. And proceeded to dig in with no further ado. The quarian swallowed a mouthful and waited for the allergic reaction, or poison that she expected would kill her in a moment. But instead felt a sweet sensation rise through her body. The sense of relief so overwhelming that she could not hide it at all.

In response, it nodded in approval.

* * *

Liara wandered in silence. Not afraid to admit that she had gotten completely lost.

Occasionally, one of the synthetics would appear. When that happened, she simply hid herself away and waited for it to leave before continuing. Eventually coming to the end the end of this alley, and found a great plaza beyond it.

She expected a synthetic civilization to be heavily industrialized, but these live in a society not much unlike that of organics. The plaza being filled with people. _People_, she allowed herself to call them. Some of them working. Guards, street-cleaners, store-owners, etc. Plus many people who simply relaxed and chatted lively with one another.

The architecture of this underground metropolis appeared to be strangely ornamented, the inhabitants obviously seem to possess an artistic sense. The buildings looked the way one would expect of an advanced city, but without too many sharp edges. The design only utilitarian in a partial sense. But one stood out among them, one which resembled a shrine... or temple.

The concept of religious synthetics fascinated her deeply. Several of those walking up and down the steps that lead to the entrance looked like monks, and often stopped to speak with visitors.

Despite the situation, she wanted nothing more than to walk in and see what's inside. And was so caught-up looking the shrine over that she failed to notice anything else until something or someone suddenly tugged against her armor, almost making the asari jump in surprise.

"W-what?" Liara turned and looked down, and was profoundly surprised to find a miniature version of the other synthetics standing close to her. Barely reaching up to her knees. Its sea-blue eyes filled with naught but child-like curiosity. It stared at her until the lips spread into a wide open-mouthed smile, from which came an excited squeal. Like from a kid who just made a great discovery while investigating new surroundings.

Liara was completely astonished by the sight. It's a child. A _child_! She crouched down slowly and – without a second thought – reached out to pick it up. At which it raised its arms in a cooperative manner and let her with no fear to show for it. The synthetic squirmed and wiggled playfully as she wrapped her palms around it, which grip she shifted slowly so as to cradle it in her arms instead. It reacted by gradually curling up into a ball. It did not even take ten seconds before it got itself comfortable, and promptly fell asleep, snoring quietly.

A synthetic, yes. But it was so adorable that Liara's heart melted completely at the sight, as she held the sleeping child close. And likewise, it melted away her preconceptions about the locals being enemies of any kind. If they maintain a society so much like that of organics to the point of raising children of their own. Then... they couldn't possibly be as bad as Saren and the others may think.

Once again she gazed at the plaza, and was amazed to see more like this one. Truthfully, at first glance, most of them looked like teens. But with a closer look, she could see the actual children among them as they either slept in the arms of those that had to be their parents, or went around playing with one another.

It seemed so... idyllic.

Before she could stop herself, she left the alley and moved along the shadows in the outskirts of the plaza, her intended direction being the temple itself. Feeling so oddly safe with this one's friendliness. She also stopped regarding them as robots, more like fellow organics.

The asari pulled the attention of more than a few as she climbed the steps. The monks were amiable enough, while the guards eyed her warily. The attention only spurred her into moving on to the grandiose entrance that towered over her like a monument, and into the temple itself, which interior stretched before her seemingly endlessly. A space filled with dancing lights and entwined colors. A soothing silence greeting her in turn.

It was fascinating to say the least. The pillars looked as if they're made out of marble, while the rest were made of more humble materials. Liara stepped in until emerging into what looked like the inside of a dome. Beautiful murals covering the curving ceiling. In the middle of the circular room, she could see a coffin, covered in glyphs and scriptures, yet otherwise made from nothing but plain wood.

Here, barely anyone payed much attention to her presence. Quite a few could be seen kneeling down at the wooden fence that surrounded the coffin, clasping their gauntlets together as if praying. Children standing nearby, mostly looking at the surroundings in awe or boredom, while clutching their parents' robes.

But Liara's eyes were focused fully on the murals. In most religious places she's been at, such images usually illustrate divine figures. But these did not. Instead they showed what looked like illustrations of different eras. Maybe even historic events. Maybe a quick summary of these synthetics' early history.

It was just an educated guess, she couldn't be sure without investigating more closely.

"_Oh?_" someone nearby spoke up, managing this without the word echoing through all of this empty space.

Liara turned to see one of those with a smaller stature, but far from being young. He also held a tall ringed staff that is three times taller than its wielder. The being examined her briefly from a distance before opening its mouth to speak again, "_You're one of the aliens I've heard of, aren't you?_"

She did not understand what he said, but the tone was pleasant and... strangely welcoming.

"_... No need to worry._" he moved on to lower the staff, and dangled its ring-covered head over the child that continued to sleep in the asari's arms, but who woke up at the proximity of the crystal-clear metallic clangs. And in a new burst of curiosity reached out to grab one of the rings, and was quickly fished out of her arms before being lowered to the ground. "_Now then, _w_hat's your name, little one?_"

The child did not let go at first, but once he did, he lowered the arm and rubbed its left eye tiredly. Only answering with some effort, "_... Sirius._"

"_Mm, if memory serves, you're Lancaster's child. Correct?_"

"_Y-yes._" Sirus spoke shyly, squirming where he stood.

"_Okay.. now don't go wandering off._"

The child nodded and shook his head all in one motion. Not sure how to respond.

The older synthetic raised the staff and waved calmly. Liara stood there with the two and waited until another synthetic appeared from nearby. Clearly distressed, and with rising relief as he came and picked the child up, who let himself sink deep into his parent's embrace with a soft squeal.

"_T-thank you, sir Regula._" this one; Lancaster, bowed to the older one in gratitude.

"_Hoh, don't thank me. It was this alien who kept your son safe._" Regula responded plainly, gesturing to Liara.

"_Oh?_" Lancaster asked as he finally acknowledged the asari's presence with a startled gasp, and hastily bowed after a moment of shock.. "_Oh, oh! Thank you._"

"_Though, I'm not sure she understands what we're saying._" the old one chuckled, reading her confused expression pretty well.

Liara felt mildly embarrassed. She could understand the gestures, but not the words. It felt extremely weird to be in a place where she couldn't understand what's being said at all. There was a situation a time ago where an Elcor terrorist managed to shut down all translators of those attending a concert with an EMP, and then started a fire. What followed was complete chaos as everyone suddenly started speaking and shouting gibberish.

In the end, she could do little but to nod cautiously, which seemed to satisfy the parent as he soon headed off with the child.

Regula however looked rather unsure what to do at the moment. Until he finally decided to gesture for the asari to stay, or at least for now. Not to go running off while he's away on some business.

That's at least the impression Liara got as she quietly agreed to it and watched him leave before investigating the roof. Or at least as well as she could from where she stood.

The first mural showed a triangle, and what looked like a beautiful city in the background, presumably from the past. On the top of the triangle, a pair of beings stood. One of them resembling asari to an astonishing degree, except with that long mane covering her head, and the skin tone.

The lower left side of the triangle features the image of what looked like a doll, a very rudiment one. While the lower right side featured the image of a circuit with what looked like an eye in the center.

Liara guessed it had to be the 'start' of the story told by the murals. And with exquisite observation moved her eyes from one to another, seeking an understanding.

* * *

Three minutes earlier...

"That's enough, Désir." Pardonner asked the moment he entered the construction area and saw the carnage. Despite organic being fragile, these aliens fought rather well. It looked almost like a platoon's been rampaging through the area. But against one the likes of the aspect of Lust..

He could at least trust Désir not to kill the aliens right away, though that did not stop him from worrying about the extent of their injuries.. that flamboyant dôji got a habit of playing with his food, after all.

And logically, he was the first Pardonner saw as he stood there looming over a heap of bodies. The aspect ran past Désir to check up on the aliens one by one – repositioning them gently into more comfortable positions – and exhaled with relief. They're still alive, beaten up – the one with white facial tattoo looked like his face-plates barely held together, but alive. They all had been rendered unconscious by then. A blessing considering the damage, it must really be hurting right now. "You went too hard on them..."

Désir's lips spread into a grin, "Of course, they wouldn't get down when I told them."

"I doubt you told them anything like that.." Pardonner verbally slapped that aside. "And even if you did, they wouldn't have understood anything."

"Much pain would have been avoided if they did not keep trying to get back up." the other sighed as the grin collapsed, "I had to..." and flexed his left gauntlet, "...insist."

Pardonner emitted a low groan while he moved closer, a gauntlet reconfiguring quickly into a large and flat panel, thin enough to shove in underneath the bodies, and yet strong enough to lift them all without breaking. Preparing to bring them back to the hospital. He could treat them here, but that would probably only reignite the struggle.

Désir huffed, though it sounded as delicate as brushing a hand across silk. His eyes on the other dôji's seemingly crippled arm, which he kept from using. "Now then, tell me. Just how did that Arcanite-fellow get-"

"Could you stop asking that question every time we meet?" the aspect of Patience growled.

"Only asking because I'm curious." Désir replied in turn.

"Don't be..."

"Fine, I'll let it lie for now." he watched as Pardonner moved to leave, with the aliens in tow. "By the way, that guy hasn't been back since his platoon moved back into the field?"

Pardonner halted, his eyes peering at him, "Yes... what of it?"

"It's just a rumor right now circulating around Eastern dome just before I left. That platoon's been incredibly busy since the war picked up its pace again, so there's been no time to send a detailed report about what's happening in the Gobi desert.."

"What is it?"

"I heard Arcanite got himself killed during one of the engagements.. Booby-trapped Leviathan. Blew up in his face.."

Pardonner's composed expression fell apart, for a moment replaced by pure anxiety. "You're lying.."

"It's just a rumor so far." Désir appeared slightly taken aback by the other dôji's sudden change, "Still awaiting confirmation. Though we'll probably learn soon enough."

With no further word of it, Pardonner turned away and stormed off with the aliens. And left Désir standing there. After a brief pause, the member of the sins raised his arms and waved casually.. "You're welcome. If you need some comforting, you know where to find me." knowing that he's just talking to thin air right now.

Absently he checked the time and hurriedly brushed the dust off his clothes. He'll be late to work if he doesn't pick up his pace right now. Just like Service, he's one of the morale officers. Though what Désir does are much less refined, and he preferred to keep it that way.

That being done, he turned and left.

* * *

Thirty minutes later...

_Location_: Gobi desert.

A massive dust cloud had been obscuring a large part of the Gobi desert since the trafficking changed, which resulted in a large number of convoys leaving the highways. All speeding to the north, to what seemed to be the location of one of their more recently built outlying factories.

A vast tunnel was quickly blasted through the cloud as a force arrived and sped towards the closest convoy in the area. A thousand dôji soldiers led by Rage, the aspect of Wrath. The swarm speeding across the land at nearly the speed of sound.

One platoon was patrolling the area when the trafficking changed so abruptly. And it had sustained about fifty percent casualties while trying to intervene. Rage made sure to recall them before he and his forces entered the area in full force.

It took less than a minute to see one of the convoys filling the horizon, with a Leviathan hanging around in the back of the formation like an enticing bait. Which it indeed is, most of the aforementioned platoon's casualties happened because of precisely that gambit. Leviathans filled with enough explosives to qualify as a small-scale tactical nuclear strike all on its own.

All as one, enemy units opened fire. Lights flashing across the entire horizon.

"All units! Shield formation!" Rage shouted to those behind him, his booming voice reaching across the formations behind him. All groups of three to four gathered together, and folded shields they quickly forged from their gauntlets on top of one another just as enemy fire arrived. Most of the bullets bouncing off those that curved the shield. While the few groups that formed a traditional wall were sent crashing to the ground when they took a straight hit from high-caliber rounds.

"Ignore the Leviathan in the back! Wreck everything else, charge!"

The dust cloud scattered explosively as hundreds of sonic booms tore through the air. The groups scattering as soon as they closed the distance sufficiently. Racing for their targets like a swarm of angry bees. The first gunships in the enemy convoy falling apart as the swarm of dôji engaged them up close.

Further up ahead, carrier vehicles opened to vomit thousands of interceptors into the fray.

Rage ignored them as he lowered himself to the ground and sped through the convoy until he arrived at the foremost Leviathan and initiated a transformation as he raced for it from behind. "Axe of Minos!" he half-muttered as his glove changed into a massive battle axe and swung it it the vehicle, pushing his speed up greatly upon this final approach.

He grit his teeth as the blade of his weapon met with the vehicle's heavy chassis. And cut it in half in one prolonged, but swift swing. The separate halves momentarily fighting to remain connected before falling apart. Falling and tumbling like a pair of broken barrels, pulverizing nearby vehicles that failed to turn away quickly enough.

This sudden loss caused the convoy to fall into temporary disarray as it had to navigate around the wreckage scattered around at the front that now kept increasing as Rage rampaged at the front, while his soldiers tore into the formation from behind.

It took ten minutes filled with pure carnage before the wreck of the last vehicle tumbled over and lay still upon the desert sands along with the convoy's last dozens of diminutive defenders.

"Form up!" Rage cried out once the troops had finished gathering the dead and wounded and sent them back to the Eastern dome. His troop strength having fallen to slightly better then eight hundred for the time being.

"We're not waiting for the recovery force?" one of the soldiers closest to him inquired even as the rest gathered, waiting for further orders.

"No." Rage shook his head, the overly large pompadour managing to sway with the shaking motion without making it look comical. He raised a hand and pointed north, "We are to investigate the factory up ahead. See the reason for this sudden change of route. Any problem with that change of plans, huh?" the aspect proceeded to ask, cracking his knuckles.

Every one of his soldiers lowered and shook their heads. No one spoke up.

"Good." Rage hummed without breaking his frown. He ran a tight ship. "All troops, on me!" the aspect cried out as he took to the air and blasted off. It only took a second for the rest to follow suit.

* * *

One hour later...

A factory's a dangerous place for anything that ain't a kurozu. Sometimes, not even for some types of kurozu. It covered the area up ahead like a carpet, but the real beast's underground. They're much bigger than meets the eye. But one thing was strange. The fact that the horde of dôji could see it just happened to be the strange part.

"They've disengaged the cloaking field in this area? Something's off." Rage muttered as he tried to see if anything else is out of place. Far below, other convoys could be seen arriving. Hurling themselves screaming through the entrance that opened. But the only real thing that stood out was the somewhat barrel-shaped thing sticking up from the center of the factory. And the only apparent reason it's standing is because of the scaffolds supporting it.

He stood there, relatively speaking, as he tried to examine it from this distance. That was, until all but one of the scaffolds dropped away. Then the realization struck him.

The scaffolds had dropped away to reveal thrusters at the lower end of the structure. And the moment it was done, they ignited and launched the now-obvious ship from its cradle. Spiraling slowly as it quickly built up speed and blasted through the layer of clouds far above. "It's a spacecraft..." he whispered.

With the theatrics out of the way, a massive cloud of claws and metal erupted from the factory. At least a million guard units swarming out to greet the intruders of the factory's airspace.

Rage scowled at the skies above, and then to the swarm before giving the signal to fall back. They couldn't hope to win against that many with just the strength of this small a battalion.

All as one, the dôji turned away and retreated from the area before the swarm could catch up to them.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later...

_Location_: Central dome; The Core.

"Damn those kurozu..." Vice complained as he watched the image of Earth along with the others. The orbit around the image displaying fifteen distinct moving dots. Kurozu spacecraft according to the message they received from Rage through his Communications Officer. One had taken off from the factory in the Gobi desert. While the fourteen others came from several other launch sites across the globe.

"It's indeed vexing." Ultimo could not help but nod in agreement, watching the sight with great concern. "Maybe it's got something to do with the capture of the alien ship earlier."

"Cursed aliens. Screwing everything up."

"What's their heading?"

Milieu sighed, "Apparently, all of them are heading for Mars."

"That's bad. Slow's there, and only three stands at his side. And there's no way to send reinforcements." Ultimo spoke gravely.

"That's it." Vice growled as he stood up, "I say we should go and get some answers. Field a full Army Group and tear the Gobi factory a new asshole until we know what they know."

The other two blinked and tore their eyes from the image, directing them at Vice. There are several reasons that they don't engage in overly large battles, one of them being the fear of causing irreversible environmental damage to the planet. The standard strategy has been to build up their forces and strangle the kurozu slowly into weakness by cutting off their access to resources.

No battalions and divisions can topple a factory head-on. And a couple of centuries back, Vice's suggestion would have been seen as an attempt at being funny. But now it's no laughing matter.

Ultimo wasn't as eager as he brushed his gauntlets together worryingly. "But what if we don't get any answers from that factory? And the loss of one does not hinder our enemy much. Indeed, it'll weaken our ability to strike at their resource routes for a time."

"Better than going blind." Vice argued.

Milieu nodded and raised an arm, "And I happen to agree with you in this matter, Vice."

Ultimo was silent as he considered. Two for. One against. No way out of it.. except, "Then we prepare. But let me take the lead."

"...Huh?" Vice nearly quacked.

"No matter what, getting in will require a great deal of force. But once we're inside, it'll become a more delicate operation. There's no way to extract information if we smash it all before it can be done. Please, for the sake of limiting the extent of the damage, allow me to lead the army for until the operation's conclusion."

Milieu looked him over, and smiled gently.. "I allow it."

"And just one more thing." Ultimo continued, "Let's try to recruit the aliens presently in the Northern dome. There's a high chance we'll be dealing with alien tech, of which they know much more about than we do."

"They haven't exactly been particularly amiable though..." the silver-haired dôji whispered in contemplation, "You sure they'll be willing to cooperate?"

"Yes. I'm certain they'll be willing to trust and help us once we explain things to them."

"Hmpf...have it your way." Vice growled. It was two against one regarding leadership for the army, so now it was his time to find little way around.

"Then bring them before us once the aliens are ready." Milieu said.. "Are we in agreement?"

"Yes." the other two spoke with mixed response.

"Then we start preparing immediately."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Revelations**

* * *

For a time, it felt like he was soaring between life and death. Gazing into the impenetrable darkness that surrounded him, though he could somehow see the vague outlines of long and thin shapes slithering somewhere out there. He was terrified of what might come out, and fought to find his gun. Not even thinking about trying to swim to find the surface.. somewhere. It hadn't even occurred to him.

But somehow, he felt a rising sense of nostalgia. And then, remembered.

Garrus remembered a situation back when he was a recruit, the greenest of the green. He made a stupid mistake during a training mission and fell into the ocean at a unspecified location. Turians are poor swimmers, so it was a mistake that could have cost him his life.

It was the most ominous moment of his life. Just him and the unknown. Heavily loaded with equipment he should have thrown away, and he was dumb enough to reach for his gun instead. More scared of whatever lurked out there, than the very real threat of drowning.

He was saved in the end of course. And got chewed out by both his instructor, and later on, his dad for his stupidity.

Yet here he was again, heavily armed and armored. Sinking ever deeper, while sensing something going on just a short distance away.

Then it came.

Out of the veil, a being appeared. Shrouded by the dark and walking on the nothingness beneath them as if it was ground. Sporting a malicious smile that sent a real shiver through Garrus' spine.

In a burst of movement, the turian brought his gun up and opened fire. But it was of no use as the shape of the pink-haired synthetic he managed to remember having fought. It did not even flinch as the bullets glanced off, merely laughing gleefully as it reached out a gauntlet, its palm so big it could easily envelop his head. And it was close to doing exactly that, when he finally woke up. Headbutting a gauntlet even larger – if flatter – than the one belonging to the other.

Garrus tried to find his weapon by pure reflex, but it was nowhere to be found. His armor had been stripped off of him again, and replaced by the clothes they put on him earlier. An attempt to escape followed, though he was quickly suppressed by the obviously far stronger synthetic next to him. But felt puzzled by how cautious its motions were, as if it did not want to hurt him.

"Take it easy." it spoke softly while leaning closer. Garrus tried to get up again, but it kept him down, "Don't worry. You're safe, same with your comrades. Now tell me, does it hurt?"

The turian wriggled briefly before acting on that question, and felt a strange lack pain. And indeed, a complete lack of injuries. "I'm... fine?"

"You took a pretty serious beating out there. But you're okay now." it spoke soothingly, "My name's Pardonner. Let's try to get along, okay?"

"Get along, huh?"

"Yeah. I'll let go of you now, make sure to behave."

As promised, the synthetic eased his gauntlet off the turian, allowing him to sit up with much relief. It was kind of unexpected, to be treated this well. But he was going to withhold his judgment for now. In the meantime, the other looked at him expectantly.

"What's your name?" Pardonner asked.

There was nothing that barred him from revealing his name. Name, rank and serial numbers were about the only things he was allowed to reveal if he ever got captured, "Garrus Vakarian."

A low hum escaped the synthetic's lips. Appearing quite pleased, "Alright. Then I believe it's time for you to rejoin your comrades. Surely you guys got plenty of questions in the need of answering... and so do we."

"What about? I'm not about to reveal anything that might endanger others."

Pardonner moved to and opened the door, gesturing for him to follow. "We got no desire to harm your people. But the kurozu will be more than happy to, and they likely know about you a whole lot more than we do. So it's in your best interest to cooperate with us. Now come..."

_Kurozu_? Garrus repeated that strange word in his head, and instantly thought of the insect-shaped machine he and the rest fought when they first arrived. His blood momentarily went cold as he thought about the horror he felt during that battle. The cold sadism it was capable of. "They're your enemy?"

"Been that way for centuries, ever since the beginning of this wretched war, and even before it."

He wanted a more descriptive answer, but that would have to do for now. And moved on to follow the synthetic with only slight reluctance.

* * *

Tali sat uncomfortably, looking at the room around her from the seat that had been offered. She rarely experienced this soft a lounge chair, and the others had been given given a few identical copies of it. The only vacant seat being Liara's as she stood in front of the synthetic who's with them, sheepishly shaking his head as the asari kept trying to ask questions about their culture.

_What culture? They're synthetics.. machines_. The quarian wasn't going to be sugarcoated into trusting them just because they can say a few nice words and give food, she'd be no different than a Varren in that case.

But one thing was for sure, until now she never truly realized how small of stature most of these synthetics are. This one barely reaching up to Liara's chest, only taller if counting that magnificent golden mane.

"Please, get back to your seat. The questioning will commence momentarily... as soon as the rest arrive." the synthetic in question spoke with a sense of finality, though it was hard to tell whether he was annoyed, or mildly embarrassed.

Liara did not look too thrilled, but obeyed as she returned to the seat and sat down. And almost by coincidence, the moment she landed her butt against the leather, the door to the left opened. Garrus emerging from it – wearing clothes that did not seem to fit entirely. Which also happened to be the case with both Saren and Nihlus. Both of them awfully quiet bar the occasional whisper. "Hey, I'm back."

Pardonner followed him in and gestured for the remaining empty chair, "Go and sit down, please." taking position next to Sophia, who clapped his gauntlets together.

"Now everyone's here. Let's begin."

"Drop the friendly act." Saren snarled.

Liara retaliated instantly, "They aren't our enemies, Saren."

"Then what about the pink one earlier, you call that a friendly welcome? It nearly killed us."

"I apologize. But Désir tends to be rather... enthusiastic about fighting. But if he truly wanted to kill, none of you would have been alive right now." Pardonner replied honestly, "And lest you forget, Sophia saved you back in Luxembourg from a rampaging kurozu. And I've both cured you, and healed you. I even went as far as reactivating her immune system."

That revelation startled the quarian, her eyes wide open.. "W-what did you say?" standing up to call out to him; "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing you should be worried about." Pardonner reacted with some confusion, "For some reason your immune system was dangerously weak. Had to pull an all-nighter to reactivate and stimulate it."

Unlike the quarian though, who staggered in horror rather than fascination. Quarians have been plagued by crippled immune systems for many generation. To be free from that weakness... yet she still reacted with hostility because the healer happened to be a synthetic. Liara however was astonished,"Incredible, how did you accomplish it?"

"I'm sorry, Liara T'soni." Sophia interrupted the exchange, "But for now, we need you to answer a few questions. Once that's over with, we'll try to satisfy your curiosity."

"Especially since the arrival of you aliens may have, or is in the process of causing a massive paradigm shift here. The consequences of which might become most severe." Pardonner followed it up very seriously.

The turians narrowed their eyes dangerously, though Garrus did not do it as much. Quite openly curious. "We will not answer questions that might endanger the people we're sworn to protect." Nihlus told them irritably.

"None of the questions involve anything beyond the oort cloud of this system, you got nothing to worry about from our side."

"First of, why did you come here to this system, why did you build a base on Mars?" Sophia asked first.

"Mars?" Liara asked for clarification, "You mean the fourth planet from the star?"

"Yes."

"...It's only an archaeological dig site. Surveyors discovered prothean ruins on its surface, and so an expedition was sent in order to study them. A while after setting up, we found out about what's underneath the clouds of this world, and a group was sent to study the ruins here in turn."

Sophia seemed satisfied with the answer, and looked to his comrade whom had watched her in a more analytical manner. Pardonner gave a nod, and that seemed to settle it. "More than I asked for, but satisfactory. Now..." he went over to the nearby desk, and plucked an omni-tool from one of its drawers. "... this one was one of the few things we managed to recover from what remained of the group you mentioned." Sophia tapped a few buttons until an image of a mass relay popped up. "But this is what we're curious about the most. What exactly is this?"

"It's a mass relay, part of a vast galactic network of transit devices."

Saren frowned, "Why did you go and spill out such information so carelessly?"

"Because we won't get anything by lying to them." and partly because Liara believed they would be able to see through eventual lies anyway, so it'd be rather pointless. Not to mention counterproductive.

Sophia drooped slightly, not particularly happy about the revelation, "A galactic transit device. What horrible timing for such a thing to appear, we need to report this immediately."

"Why? The discovery of a mass relays is usually a cause for celebration to most species." Garrus asked this time out of curiosity. To look upon one with lamentation struck him as odd.

"Excuse us, but this meeting's adjourned for now." Pardonner announced, "We'll make sure to answer whatever question you may have once we get back to you." and motioned to leave.

"Wait...!" the asari stood and reached out for them, but it was too late. The two quickly left the room, leaving her and the others in relative silence.

"What the hell was that all about?" Nihlus asked.

"...Beats me."

* * *

_Date_: 8th April, 3573 A.D.

_Location_: Mars; Within alien base perimeter.

Slow almost laughed at their fortune. Infiltrating the alien base proved much easier than he hoped. Few guards, no traps, no static defenses, and poor surveillance. Even minor kurozu outposts got better security than this. These aliens honestly did not seem to expect any uninvited visitors at all. Or they simply never took into account anything less rambunctious than pirates or simple thugs.

Though the violent sandstorm couldn't be discounted either.

Cautiously, Slow led his team as they scaled the scaffolds lining the exterior wall of the largest building close to the artificial hole in the middle of the complex, and onto one of the catwalks at the upper floors.

"Still no alien in sight." Ridge hummed with glee, "This is too easy.."

"The sandstorm's probably keeping 'em inside." Slow chuckled, "Good for us." and turned his attention to a nearby airlock, "Dirge, see if you open that. We'll cover you."

Said dôji made a motion to crack his knuckles at the opportunity of such work, though no distinct snapping sound came due to the obvious difference between their kind and organics. He stepped in close to the panel next to the airlock, and opened it to access the door controls just beyond it. His right gauntlet splitting apart to form the standard intrusion hardware and overlapped the controls with it. Several seconds ticked away before the question came:

"Got it yet?" Ridge asked.

"Technology's different." Dirge frowned, "Very different. Give me a few minutes, creating an interface."

Slow was briefly tempted to rip the whole thing open, but that would attract attention they did not want for sure. So his subordinate was given a few minutes to work until the airlock finally hissed and slid aside, allowing the four of them to enter. Though there was still one more airlock before they could enter the base proper.

"One moment." Dirge said, closing the outer door, and then opened the inner one.

"Good work.." Slow smiled as he took his first look at the interior of the base. The indoor atmosphere was pleasant enough to resemble that of Earth centuries ago. The aliens strangely seemed to prefer pristine white as the standard color for all thinkable interior surfaces, and all of it's absurdly spotless. The aliens seemed to be obsessed with cleanliness.

Anyway, there was little sign of activity. "Okay, let's do it like this. Ridge, Sweeper.. you two stay here and guard the airlock. Dirge, you and me will move on ahead."

Standard procedure. Leave some behind to cover the exit while the rest moves on. Sweeper nodded in acknowledgment, Ridge was hesitant, but stayed.

That being settled, Slow left with Dirge following suit. Quickly passing through multiple hallways, and down a couple of stairs. The first few rooms did not contain anything interesting of note. But a couple of stories further down, they began hearing voices, and a lot of them.

The corridor ahead seemed empty, but one side was covered with windows at shoulder-height. Slow gestured for Dirge to follow, and they lowered themselves into a crouch, quietly moving through until the leader rose up slightly to peer through one of the windows. Finding a large room on the other side filled with aliens of all sorts of different shapes. Most sitting in various benches and chairs while one stood by the desk at the opposite side of the room. A somewhat strangely blue-colored and human-like alien woman with a scalp crest on the head instead of hair, wearing a sophisticated black dress unsuitable for most workplaces. It seemed especially unfit due to her apparent age.

Slow lowered himself back down and shook his head. "This is why we haven't encountered any other aliens so far."

"Thought it was odd." Dirge shrugged as they moved on past all the windows, getting set to stand back up. "Where to next?"

"There should be a-" Slow froze as an alien suddenly appeared from just around the corner just ahead, right in front of them. The dôji both froze in place, worrying that it would sound the alarm. But... its reaction to their presence could be considered... odd, at best.

It stood rather tall, at least compared to most dôji. With a strangely elongated body with a sunken chest, as if lacking proper ribs. Slow and Dirge taking an involuntary step back as it focused the large oval eyes on its long and flat face on them. Curiously, the alien also got horns. The skin being white, orange, red and black in various places.

But it did not appear surprised, merely staring down at them with an inquisitive finger scratching against the chin. And then raised the right arm, from which an omni-tool popped into place and waved it at them for apparently no reason.

"Er... hello?" Slow tried to ask with a nervous smile.

"Hm. Curious. Stowaways? No. Food's under supervision, would have noticed lack. Resemble asari and batarian children. But isn't. Two eyes, not four. Fur, not crest. Forget that, body structure don't match. Newly discovered species? Raloi? Yahg? No no no." it sniffed, momentarily in thought. "Scans inconclusive. Non-existent results. Malfunctions? No, ran a check fourteen hours ago. Requires study, will be exciting. Come with me for a moment. Medical examination, for science." and grabbed them nonchalantly by the wrists, pulling them along down the next corridor on a proper heading while humming some sort of patter-song with extreme rapidity.

Slow was so dumbfounded by the alien's manner of speech that he utterly failed to resist when the alien grabbed and pulled him and Dirge along. Its behavior like a hamster on coffee, speed and half a dozen other drugs, all in one package. All he could say was a stunned; "Er... what just happened?"

"Don't know.." his subordinate groaned as he stared lamely at the floor like a zombie looking for its brain, "That one just blew my mind."

* * *

Five minutes later.

_Location_: Prothean archives, medical wing.

So much for a stealthy advance. They were caught not by a hyper-advanced surveillance system. Not by a ultra-dangerous trap. Not by an army of enemy soldiers armed to the teeth. But by an elderly and weird alien doctor who apparently did not need to take a breath between sentences.

Had this been a kurozu facility, he'd tear the whole place a superfluous new asshole without hesitation. But now.. sitting just a few feet away from a genuine sentient organic who's jotting down notes on a data-pad at such an incredibly furious pace that he quietly wondered how the hell the computer managed to keep up with it.

How long has it been since last time he saw a human being? Centuries. It was quite disarming to think about. Actually seeing intelligent organics after so long... even more so. And judging by Dirge's mannerism, he was just as much at a loss. Not knowing what to do.

But no matter how fascinating this encounter may be, they couldn't get stuck here. They got a job to do.

Slow pushed himself off the bed, keeping his voice low.. "Come, while he's preoccupied."

The only obstacle to their escape however happened to be the door. He winced the first time he saw it open and slide to the side. He had never experienced a door causing that much of a racket. It's a problem to say the least.

"Doctor!" someone called out, accompanied by the loud hissing sound as the door opened, allowing entrance to several people in uniform. Dragging along a bed on which one of the plated aliens rested, breathing painfully.

The door was left open behind them.. providing an opening the dôji could not possibly miss. But as the two made their way to it, Slow was caught by a strange feeling as he felt his attention drawn to the procedure going on between the aliens as they fought to treat their patient. Something about poisoning from an experiment gone awry in the 'archives'. Standard containment procedure failed due to damage caused by the raging sandstorm outside, resulting in containment failure. The scientists inside got out, but the guard who had gone in to help them out.. the one on the bed, was last one out. But he was far too late, and fell deathly ill.

The doctor, his name apparently being Mordin, was on the job. Rapidly applying injections while applying tubes attached to vessels of liquid. Ones specifically tailored for 'turians' in mind due to differing chemistry.

Dirge looked at him questioningly, "The door's open, sir. We got to go!"

But Slow made a slashing move with a claw, a gesture to be silent.

"Please, doctor." another organic spoke up pleadingly. Of the same species as Mordin, but with a different uniform that appeared to be a hazard suit.. "He's my friend. Please save him."

Mordin was silent for a moment as he took in the readings of how far the 'poison' has spread. "Trying. Poisoning severe. Apply another dose, apply it to heart. No no no. One not enough, double it. Double it!" he told his coworker before looking to the scientist gravely, "Chances of survival.. minimal. But will attempt..." saying this with much disgust at his own helplessness in this case.

"Heart rate dropping!" the nurse nearly shouted.

It was plain to the dôji that the medicine and poison's fighting for dominance in the patient's heart. It was basically a battle between their own tried and true methods against a substance that is likely unknown. Whether or not it'll work, it all came down to luck now.

"He'll go into cardiac arrest at this rate!"

The scientist was dismayed by this, "N-no!"

"Quick!" Mordin said as they immediately moved in to counteract. Working to attach additional life support; "We got five minutes!"

"Will he make it?"

"Difficult to say. Contaminant unknown. Applied medicine seems to have an effect. At this rate, can go either way."

"So it all comes down to fate, does it? No, I can't accept that."

Slow's lips settled into a thin line as he stepped in closer. He should be leaving this room and continue the mission, but could not simply leave while a life's in such danger.

Fate. He could work with fate.

His body emitted a low hum as he focused on the image before him. His eyes glowing faintly as a vision appeared in his mind; displaying three separate options. Each providing a different outcome to this scenario.

1. Treatment fails, and patient dies.

2. Treatment wins out, but patient's crippled for life.

3. Treatment succeeds, the patient survives to make a full recovery.

One and two's equally unacceptable. Number three it must be. "And I'll make it so..."

"S-sir?" Dirge asked with astonishment. Seeing the aspect forsake the mission for the sake of an alien he did not even know. The burst of activity on Slow's side attracted Mordin's attention, though the doctor did not show it much.

"Noh power." his claws shrouded by blurry lights as he brought his gauntlets together, keeping them only inches apart, as if about to initiate a prayer... "Fate manipulation, activate!"

It was fairly undramatic as things go. A bit of seemingly unnecessary theatrics. But the effect could be seen as the next couple of minutes passed by; "H-huh?" the nurse gasped.. "Condition... stabilizing...?"

It looked so hopeless previously that disbelief overwhelmed them even as the turian's breathing normalized.

Mordin hummed something quietly.

"T-thank you.. thank you!" the scientist spoke up breathlessly, addressing the doctor.

But his attention seemed to be on the dôji. "With such a low probability of success. Very strange actually. Must have had help. A little push, or a big push... doesn't matter. Your doing?" he asked. His eyes on Slow. It seemed like a wild guess, but his ears were sharp enough to have overheard what Slow had been whispering.

It quickly became apparent that none of the other organics had noticed the dôji standing there at all as they all reacted with surprise and bewilderment. Their attention homing in on the two who stood between them and the exit.

"... Who are you? How did you get here?" the nurse asked. Most concerned by how anyone not a member of the expedition got here.

"Aren't you missing something...?" the scientist asked with great curiosity as he scrutinized the two.. "These aren't from any species that I know of... But... how's this recovery their doing?"

But the doctor cut them off, approaching the dôji. "Change in patient's condition too sudden. Mechanical hum came from this one before condition changed. You're synthetics, aren't you? If so, satellite automatons of prothean research facility below?"

"Would you believe me if I said we're of a machine race hailing from the third planet in this system?"

Mordin put that under consideration, "Third planet blanketed by alien ruins. No reason not to believe... unless eventual study proves otherwise."

"Doctor!" the nurse uttered in alarm, "Why can you treat them so casually? If they're synthetics..."

"Irrelevant."

"How is it irrelevant? They probably killed their creators. They're no different than the Geth."

"Now wait just a -" Dirge responded with outrage, only quieting down as Slow made another slashing gesture.

"Then why save patient? Why not kill while preoccupied? ...Well?" Mordin asked his asari subordinate. Though his eyes remained on Slow.

She had no answer to that, only moving her mouth like a fish on dry land. But she recovered shortly, "How could they have treated the patient? All that thing did was standing there making gestures."

Slow raised an eyebrow at being referred to as _that thing_ before answering, "Some of our kind possess powers called Noh, gifted to us by our father. Mine's fate manipulation. I did not heal the patient, all I did was alter the probability of the treatment's success."

"Alter probability?" the salarian scientist was dumbfounded by this, "That's practically the realm of god. No way, you're lying."

Slow brushed his way past that protest, "My name's Slow. This is one of my subordinates, Dirge.." not mentioning those upstairs yet. "I'm the representative of my people, the Dôji. However, as to your accusation: We did no such thing. We share the planet with another species of – what you refer to as synthetics; called the Kurozu. Which has been our enemy for centuries, and still is. They were the ones who destroyed our creators; the humans." making sure not to tell them about the mission he and the others came here to fulfill. Deciding that being a representative would sound much more... amiable. More than one way to gather information.

He was curious about this 'Geth' the female alien mentioned however. But decided that could wait.

"Two factions of synthetics on one planet. Curious." Mordin responded, narrowing his eyes slightly amidst a burst of thought.

The asari broke in, "We should inform Matriarch Benezia about this."

The doctor frowned at the suggestion, but nodded. It was the most logical thing to do. But before he could do anything more, the lights suddenly turned red, accompanied by an alarm, followed by the announcement coming from the base VI. "Alert. Hostile craft detected in orbit. All expedition personnel follow standard operation procedure and prepare to evacuate. This is not a drill."

Mordin wasted no time as he checked his omni-tool for data. Depending on the leader, the spread of information can be either extremely liberal, or all the way down to being restricted to all but a few specific people. Luckily, this case seemed to be more the former. And shortly, an image popped up above the tool. Displaying one of the ships. A massive craft with no curves in its design at all. Strictly utilitarian in design.

Slow had never seen that specific ship-type before, but the design told him all he needed to know, "Kurozu."

"You know what they're here for?"

"If I were to guess; this base."

Dirge sighed, "Meaning.. this is going to suck. That's all I'm saying."

* * *

Meanwhile.

_Location_: Northern dome, hospital.

"Dôji." Liara rolled that word around her mouth, finding it to be quite a strangely innocuous name in stark contrast to the coarse kurozu.

"Our father named us." Sophia said, placing special emphasis on the family title. "I suppose a basic history lesson's in order." a world map promptly appeared seamlessly from the wall without detectable mechanisms. Or at least a map showing what this world looked like before it was ruined. "Basically, humankind – our creators, already experimented with robotics over a thousand years ago. Of course, not everyone were as enthused. Mostly frightened by what they saw in various movies – footage for entertainment-purposes, where humanity fought for survival against sentient machines waging genocidal wars against their creators."

"If so, why would they so stupidly insist on such a course?" Tali asked, shaking her head at such foolishness.

"Because humans were fascinated with the idea and concept of machines capable of acting autonomously ever since classical times. But most of the research in robotics was focused not on specific industrial tasks, but more for the sake of investigating. Countless applications were created, but none beyond human control."

"Where did it go wrong?" Liara proceeded to ask. The turians were mostly quiet, with only Garrus showing any real interest.

Pardonner squirmed uncomfortably, "We don't know exactly when and how the kurozu were conceived. They were originally military and industrial AI that eventually went rampant. How, no one knows. We're still trying to figure out their origin, and the reason for their destructive behavior, their motivations." he tilted his head slightly, "Though if you ask me, their behavior is much like children who have yet to be taught the difference between right and wrong, lashing out at everything around them either because their angry, frustrated or simply does it for the sake of having fun. The treatment you received in Luxembourg could be considered similar to kids incinerating bugs with a magnifying glass, or pulling out their wings."

"Nothing but conjecture though." Sophia made sure to mention.

Tali was less than enthused about seeing the dôji formulating such a comparison. "Don't make me laugh, synthetics are monsters. Killing organics is what they do."

"With that reasoning, there's no such thing as a non-monster." Sophia countered in a mild manner. "And in a world where everyone's a monster, no one is."

"Come on guys." Garrus raised his arms, gesturing for them to calm down before something bad happens.. "Let's take it easy."

Liara quickly joined in, "I apologize for my comrade's outburst. Quarians usually got strong opinions about AI in general."

"You don't need to apologize." Sophia shrugged, "It's okay."

Tali was about to say something, but decided against it as she leaned back into the chair. Fuming quietly.

"So, shall we continue?"

Liara nodded, "You and other dôji keep referring to a Father. Who's he?"

"Um, he's the one who created the first dôji. His actual name was Roger Dunstan, he was a brilliant man, the likes of which only appear once every thousand years. He studied and mastered several fields of science, including experimental ones. But he especially revolutionized robotics."

"He was also a very eccentric fellow. His greatest passions happened to be old-fashioned doll-theater and kabuki among other things. The latter being classical dance-drama. One of his dreams was to create the ultimate mix of the two, using robots." Pardonner added in with some amusement breaking up his rather stoic expression.

"Anyway..." Sophia moved on, "All of us who eventually became the first dôji started our lives as humble robots that served under private owners. But due to the sheer sophistication of our bodies thanks to the advancements Dunstan brought, most of our lines of robots attained self-awareness and genuine consciousness. Some humans wanted to destroy us because of this, but there were those who readily accepted and welcomed us, including Dunstan himself."

Tali snorted at that, and was quickly joined in by Saren who emitted a snarl of disgust; "Fools I'd say." Garrus and Nihlus still sat rather passively though, paying rapt attention.

"Then came the war." Sophia continued, ignoring the lead turian. "Humanity died off all around us. And when the kurozu started running out of humans to kill, they included us into their target-list. Eventually, only sixteen of us remained."

"And I guess that's when it happened." Liara said.

"Yes. He gathered, upgraded and transferred our software into new bodies he had built using bleeding edge technology. Including tech derived from extensive – and successful, studies into dimensional experimentation in order to strengthen our new bodies far beyond the norm so we'd be able to survive. Even in this decaying world beset by the kurozu."

"D-dimensional experimentation?" Garrus blurted out, unable to keep it in, "What the hell is that?"

"We don't know the specifics. He erased the data of his research after the new bodies were completed to prevent the kurozu from finding and utilizing it. We only know it's the source of our Noh powers, among other things. Regardless, his effort resulted in the birth of the Dôji species. He's our father..." the aliens were taken by surprise when a tear appeared from the corner of Sophia's left eye. And the dôji almost seemed like he was daydreaming before he finally noticed and wiped the tear away, "I'm sorry. All of us who lived back then miss him."

"And you eventually decided to build temples to honor him?"

"Well... our reverence towards our father proved rather contagious, and our children adopted a similar devotion in turn. And before we knew it, a religion cropped up." turning to Liara, "Regula – the one you met earlier at the local temple, placed himself as its leader. To keep it nice as ninepence."

"What kind of government do you have?" Liara did not hold back now that it was approaching the juicy bits: Information about dôji culture.

"Basically what we got is a ruling council. Milieu, the Grand aspect of moderation being our highest leader. At his side: Ultimo, the Grand aspect of ultimate good. And Vice, the Grand aspect of ultimate evil. They are the triumvirate, and each others counterweight, though Milieu always gets the final say." Pardonner explained, "We along with eleven others are the closest to them in rank, being the aspects of sins and virtues. I'm the aspect of Patience, while Sophia's the aspect of Wisdom."

Tali reacted to the mentioning of the word _evil_, but said nothing.

"What's with the titles?" Nihlus inquired, breaking his silence at last.

"During our rebirth, when we became dôji.. Dunstan instilled into us various aspects of the human soul." Sophia replied to that.

"Out of curiosity, what's the aspect of the pink one we fought earlier?"

"His name's Désir." Pardonner insisted, though he started looking oddly worried as rapid footsteps could be heard coming closer outside the room.. "He's the aspect of Lust."

Liara still had plenty of questions, and readied to ask the first one to come to mind when the door opened, "Excuse me, sir."

Pardonner froze, staring down at the floor with trepidation. Having steeled himself the best he could for when it finally came, "The latest batch just arrived... didn't it?"

Daos bowed, his expression sad, "Yes."

The aspect hesitated, but slowly turned to leave despite himself.. "I'm coming. Has Regula arrived yet?"

"He arrived a few minutes ago..."

"Good.." he said, his voice breaking up for a split second.. "Going to need the support..."

Sophia and the rest watched them leave, "No one's left behind." he spoke softly, "Those who die, we make sure their bodies are sent back home for burial."

Garrus scratched his plated chin curiously, "I must say, in that regard you're the same as us."

The dôji turned and nodded at him with a faint smile that promptly vanished a certain alien reacted with great anger.

"Seriously..." Tali blurted out. Not able to take this anymore, "... can you stop this already? You're not fooling anyone..."

Liara was about to react with great exasperation over the quarian's persistent hostility. But Sophia merely fixed his eyes wearily on the quarian. The room silent as the two stared at one another until the dôji emitted a sad sigh, "Come with me. I'd like to show you something..."

* * *

Minutes later...

"So what, are you going to kill me now?" Tali finally asked. Her comrades could only offer token protests as Sophia led her out of the room and down the hallway. After the earlier attempt to escape, the dôji had brought them all the way up to the twentieth story to discourage another one. Plus she could see guards standing at every single corner. They entered the closest elevator, which promptly accelerated downwards. Though the lurch wasn't felt at all.

"Doing so would serve no purpose.." Sophia replied, shaking his head sadly. "We're just going down to where Pardonner is at. In the morgue reserved for wartime casualties."

"Don't give me that." Tali hissed, "Death has no meaning to synthetics."

"It does to us." the dôji sighed, "Our bodies are fully capable of functioning indefinitely, being fully capable of self-maintenance and self-repair as long as we got energy. But if our core spheres are destroyed, we die. No going back."

"Then build a new core sphere. What's the problem...?" the quarian was both annoyed and perplexed about that detail.

"So, do your people revive your dead by implanting new brains after the old ones are ruined?"

"W-what?" Tali gasped with disgust at the thought of that, and the mental image that eagerly invited itself in.. "No!"

"Then you should understand why we don't put in new core spheres. It's impossible to do it anyway, all we can do is give birth to more dôji. It's not a factory-based process like what the kurozu does."

Tali grimaced at that, unable to reply as the elevator opened. Him quick to lead her on from there until they arrived at a large open door. Beyond it, she could see a very large hall. Filled with tables neatly lined up, each with a wood-brown coffin on top. Many dôji had already begun to gather, most searching through the coffins. While some had found the coffins of old friends, acquaintances, and so on. A few of them with kids young enough to not understand why the person's lying motionlessly in a coffin. It was all the worse for the kids who's fathers were lying there. One older kid was futilely trying to awaken his dead father, crying while his other parent tried to comfort him with tearing eyes.

Among the coffins walked an elderly-looking bald dôji with a staff. Moving among the people to offer his condolences.

The quarian thought she would've been able to bounce off whatever Sophia wanted to show her. But was taken aback by the sheer intensity of the emotions running through the great hall as people within mourned.

Sophia shed no tears, but carried a deeply sad expression. He let the alien take in the sight for a minute until he finally went and tugged at her arm, pointing in a specific direction. At where Pardonner stood, just a short distance from a specific coffin. His trembling legs giving away completely as he arrived at the table, dropping to his knees. Yet he managed to place his right arm onto the coffin.. rubbing it slowly as he buried his face into the tablecloth and wept.

"Who's in the coffin?" Tali asked, breathing nervously. This whole scene was not what she expected at all. Eventually, the staff-wielding dôji homed in on the fellow aspect and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Arcanite. Pardonner's bond-mate."

That got her attention; "Bond-mate... does that mean..?"

"It's called a Contract. It's the dôji equivalent of marriage, but it is strictly a short-term relationship that only lasts until the eventual child enters adulthood. A relatively short time from organics that typically mate for life, but it's an eternity to synthetics."

Tali briefly wondered if there exists female dôji at all. But they seemed like more of a mono-gendered species, synthetic or not. Which wasn't too odd in this universe, considering the existence of the Asari. "But.. how does that work, how do you produce children?"

"Through energy transfer made through direct contact between the couple's core spheres. The child's created by one of them using energy given by the other.. Initiating a mechanical transformation inside one of the dôji's gauntlets. But by design, it's a slow transformation that last for more than a month. During which the dôji is considered 'pregnant'."

He paused briefly as she stared at the gauntlet resting on top of the coffin. Unlike the other, it sported a very distinct oval bulge. "You mean... that?"

"Yes. It's an egg. It's released from the gauntlet once it's ready to hatch." Sophia continued to explain.. "Only a couple of more days until his will be ready..."

A silence was traded back and forth between them until the quarian broke it, "Really, I don't know what to think after seeing all of this..."

"You believe we would go through all of this, just to deceive you?"

"Maybe to indoctrinate us into serving you as agents, to prepare for a war against organics across the galaxy."

"If that's what we wanted, then why insist on such a cumbersome method when there are much more efficient ways to go about it?" Sophia replied, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the mourners. "All we want is to build bridges between us. We desire to form an alliance if at all possible. At the very least, we want your help in an upcoming operation."

"Our help? Operation?"

"Yes. We're gathering an army to storm the factory where we believe the kurozu's keeping the ship they took from your expedition. We want to find the answers as to what they're planning. And we believe it's in your best interest to join us. Especially because they're launching an attack against Mars even as we speak, presumably to capture the base on its surface. And who knows what they'll do after that."

The quarian paled as he revealed this.

"So what say you?" and raised a gauntlet, "For the sake of all life, will you help us?"

* * *

Author notes: The dôji imitate human society to a great extent, and a big part of it is the family. In that order, I spent some time thinking of methods of reproduction that could be considered plausible for dôji (Considering they're synthetics, and technically genderless) And came up with what's explained in this chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Gathering**

* * *

_Date_: 8th April, 3573 A.D.

_Location_: Northern dome, hospital, improvised classroom.

"And just like that you decided to join them?" They were alone once again, and Saren was completely outraged. And to him, it was for a good reason. The quarian had come back no worse for the wear, but obviously humbled compared to when she left with the dôji Sophia.

Nihlus glared at the strangely silent quarian as she simply sat there with Liara looking over her, "Don't give us the silent treatment, Tali'Zorah." he told her sternly, "First Liara, and now _you_... what is with you people?" this time the question was aimed at all of those who had started to view their synthetic hosts sympathetically.

"At this rate, I find it more likely they've been brainwashed somehow." Saren growled, pacing through the room back and forth, each step bringing him closer to the quarian, as if willing to strangle the answers out of her.

Liara however frowned and stood up to bar the spectre's way. "Don't you even try to harm her, Saren." she told him off with clear irritation, arms folded across her chest.

But the turian wasn't going to be intimidated by an archaeologist as he stepped closer, his face just inches from hers, "Then what about you?"

The answer came without pause, "They're not like the geth at all. They got a culture and society similar to organic species. Why would machines even bother to do something like that?"

"They're trying to..."

"No. They aren't." Tali cut in, "They are bound by the cycle of birth, life and death much in the same way we are." and then paused with hesitation, "...I even found out how they reproduce..."

The eyes of the asari almost glowed with interest as she whirled around on her very toes to lean down to her eye-level, "Really? How do they do...?"

"You saw Pardonner's bumpy gauntlet, right?" Tali replied slowly, "It's not just deformity.. He is pregnant."

"That's... incredible." Liara whispered, astounded.

Nihlus shook his head angrily, "That's a bunch of nathak-dung."

Tali answered, largely ignoring the spectre; "His child's due within the next couple of days, Sophia said. I asked if I could witness the act, to see if he truly spoke the truth..."

"Did he approve it?"

"He saw no reason why not. Though it's really up to Pardonner whether or not he wants an audience."

"Could I possibly join as well?"

Tali scratched her chin, watching the asari's hopeful expression, "... Maybe. But as I said, it's up to that guy."

Liara absently searched for her PDA, rabid with the desire to document everything discovered so far. Not finding it left her with an air of disappointment, "... I see."

Saren snorted, "You disgust me, both of you.." waving his hand in a cutting motion as he sat back down on his chair.

"Is there something else, while you're at it?" Garrus asked, settling himself in a more neutral stance, leaning calmly against the chair... obviously not entirely comfortable with its design. Mostly it came from a complete lack of padding appropriate to his head. "Something big being lobbed around inside your head?"

Tali looked into the palms of her naked hands for a moment with serious eyes, "Yes. It may even be a bigger reason why I'm willing to accept them." her breaths filled with anxiety, "The dôji's enemies have launched an attack against Mars."

Garrus got up abruptly at that, nearly knocking over his chair; "They're what? Damn it."

"Shut it, both of you." Saren snarled, "Don't you see that may be misinformation?"

"Don't you think I've already considered that?" Tali bit back irritably, "Maybe it's completely false. But if it is true-"

"You think."

"Why don't you just go and shut up, bosh'tet? If it's the truth, then those synthetics may be trying to capture the base for their own gain. A huge cache of data left behind by the protheans, can you imagine what they'll do with that information? Can't you comprehend for one instant that they may try to spread beyond this system?" the quarian stood up, now shouting at him in anger, "I don't want those bastards anywhere near the flotilla. I'd sign a pact with the devil and sell my very own soul if that's what it took to stop them."

Garrus hummed darkly, "Thinking back on that thing we fought back then.. I don't want to see any of its kind on Palaven, or anywhere else. If these synthetics right here truly are benign, then we should consider an alliance of convenience at least."

"I'd say it's very much a choice between two evils. Might as well go with the lesser one." Liara said, trying to apply Saren's line of thinking and form a compromise. But the spectre merely snorted.

"By the way..." Garrus started to wonder, "If that attack's true, what are they planning to do about it?"

"They want to attack one of the enemy factories." Tali replied, "They think it's where the _Uncovering sight's _being kept for study_. _The dôji know absolutely nothing about mass effect fields and element zero.. which is why they want us to come along too if possible."

"So they got no mass effect, huh." he quietly considered this information before continuing, "But that still leaves one thing. Our equipment and weapons are no good here, how can we possibly join them and expect to survive?"

And that was the real difficult question to answer. Fortunately, it came as the door finally opened. "Don't you worry about that little tidbit.." Sophia said as he walked in, followed in by a towering figure. It was the first time any of the aliens had to crane their necks to meet a dôji's eyes.. "This is one of my colleagues: Gauge; the aspect of Contemplation."

"Good to meet you." the large and heavily muscled dôji greeted them, "I'm here to take your measurements."

"M-measurements?" the quarian asked uneasily, folding her arms defensively.

"Don't you worry." Gauge smiled as he plucked a strange bundle from the palm of the gauntlet on his left arm, unfolding it to reveal a bright orange jumpsuit.. it looked like it was made from a type of rubber or plastic.

With some curiosity, Tali approached him and placed a finger against the surface of the suit and was startled as it quickly adhered to her skin. She jerked her hand back with a start, "What is this?"

Gauge chuckled with some humor, "Nothing to be concerned about. It'll measure you once you put this on. Of course, it clings against your skin – every curve and valley – in order to provide accurate readings."

"Er..." Garrus frowned, "... does this mean..."

"That we will supply you with appropriate armor and weaponry, yes." the giant dôji replied, "Though of course, it depends on whether or not you're willing to join with us."

"And what about those who won't?" Saren asked, his eyes solidly on the smaller Sophia.

And the aspect of Wisdom answered accordingly, "You'll be able to come along with the rest to Central dome, but won't be given equipment.. nor be allowed to join the upcoming battle. You will be kept in Central dome under watch for the duration of the operation." explaining it quite seriously.

The turian narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"It's strictly a safety precaution. No one in their right mind would give advanced armament to someone potentially willing to inflict fratricide out of prejudice." Sophia sighed, "So... which one of you would like to fight alongside us?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Liara asked, "I'm in."

Tali hesitated if only for a moment, "Sophia.. before I answer.. I got a question to ask, is it really the truth that the kurozu are attacking Mars?"

Sophia nodded in understanding and waved his gauntlet through the air, several holograms popping into view.. "Certainly." displaying the crude boxy ships of the kurozu as they exited Earth's atmosphere, and initiated a jump in a manner all too recognizable to the aliens. With data displaying their flight path and intended destination scrolling down the following images. Their point of terminus; Mars. "We don't have any data of what's going on over there right now. But they're not there to sell cookies. That said, what's your answer?"

It did not take long for the quarian to think it over, "I'm in."

"Anyone else?" the dôji asked, watching the turians. All three of them standing and sitting motionlessly. Saren seemed all too busy scowling to think. Fortunately it did not take long before an answer came about, as Garrus approached.. "Think I'll join in as well. I recruited the girls to our mission, so they're my responsibility."

"Good, good. Any more?" Sophia asked, but was met with silence from the two remaining turians, Garrus wordlessly trying to coax them into joining in to avoid splitting up the team, with little success to show for it. Sophia waited for them to come around, but eventually relented as he raised his shoulders; "Alright. Let's get you measured up, we leave for Central dome in two hours, tops."

* * *

Meanwhile...

_Location_: Mars. Base Hangar.

"All personnel, prepare for evacuation procedure. The _Journey_ and _Illustrious plight_ is standing by. Five minutes until launch." the feminine synthetic voice of the station's VI repeated once again, with an update on launch time. "This is not a drill."

The whole hangar was full of people already, technicians rushing back and forth to prepare the ships while scientists and other non-combatants crowded themselves into uneven lines maintained by exasperated security personnel.

"So nostalgic..." Slow whispered, standing completely unnoticed in a distant corner together with Dirge.. And the alien; Mordin, who simply observed the chaos while scratching his chin with an inquisitive finger. A perfect example of self-control.

Dirge was slightly confused, "How so, sir?"

"Not in any good way of course. Reminds me of when I was a waiter-bot, during humanity's last days." the aspect told him grimly, fixing his gaze on the ceiling far above. "Was walking with my master in an airport, he was wearing his best suit even in that situation. A lot of people tried to find a place to run. But there was no place left to go. Shortly after, a poison strike came..." he stopped himself from further reminiscence with a self-invoked slap to his forehead. "Drat~"

"I'm sorry..."

"No need to apologize, little friend."

The lesser dôji huffed – slightly indignant. "I've told you many times, sir. Please don't call me that."

Slow giggled, placing his left palm on top of Dirge's head, "I'm the boss, so I can name my cute subordinates whatever I want."

"Sir..." Dirge quietly whined.

"Hehe, just kidding."

The moment fell apart when yet another panicked asari ran past their position. Though with a heading different from the rest, bearing down on the alien in the distance they all referred to as Matriarch Benezia. "Matriarch! The enemy's breaking through our orbital defenses!"

The old asari cursed under her breath, "Any word from Desolas?"

"None, milady. Not since he inquired about his brother."

"Damn it. Tell him to get his fleet moving, or I'll hang his ass in front of the council!" and yelped as the whole building rocked violently, "Earthquake, now...?"

An answer quickly came from the assistant after a moment of confusion, "Enemy fleet's firing on us. Base perimeter has been hit by at least sixty high-speed objects." followed by additional impacts right in front of the hangar. The kinetic barrier between those inside and the thin atmosphere outside shuddering as the resulting shock waves mixed with the violent winds and struck it with full force.

Slow gritted his teeth as he watched Benezia do the same at the sight, "Tell the Commander to draw their fire away from us until we're clear!" she called out.

"Can't! We just lost contact with the frigates!"

But despite the situation crumbling steadily before this assault, all Mordin had to say was a strangely nonchalant, "Problematic.."

"I can't believe that guy.." Dirge said about the salarian.

"That is what's bothering you?" Slow asked, pushing himself away from the wall. "Send a message to Ridge and Sweeper. We're going to..." and stopped as he felt the building shake again, this time from a distant explosion.. "That.. wasn't caused by orbital weapons' fire."

Ahead of them, the kinetic barrier nearly broke as a large number of black objects rammed their way through it, the minute exposure to the outside resulting in a gale blasting its way through the hangar, injuring several as sand and rocks thrown about by the violent sandstorm outside struck them, while many others were thrown off their feet.

"We got company..."

* * *

Benezia couldn't believe what was happening. This expedition was supposed to be the new frontier of research.. then everything went to hell. Everyone dying, Mornoa and his team.. the Spectre team her daughter joined.. and now... this.

The elder asari barely got back on her feet before one of the attackers launched a spherical object – possibly a bomb – through the canopy of the _Journey_, and watched as the ship was incinerated from within. Fire even belching out of the open airlock close to the back, killing scores of those who were trying to get on board. The _Illustrious plight_ suffered the same fate. Almost freezing solid as she watched many of her comrades consumed by the rampant fires, screaming in agony. A few so badly burned already that she couldn't even tell what species they used to be.

But another horror lay in wait as a swarm of machines appeared from the smoke that now filled the hangar. Ink black squid-like machines with dozens of eyes each, and just as many tentacles to propel them through the air as if they're underwater. But that was nothing compared to what came next.

The machines split apart and closed ranks. Cobbling themselves together to form a much larger machine. The first forming a bizarre skeleton, while the rest dressed said skeleton, acting as its muscles. The end result being a grotesque abomination resembling an asari that had been seared nearly to the bone. With hundreds of small red optics covering every part of its body. Each limb ending in long jagged claws. And then it lashed out, reaching for the grounded Benezia. Probably to smear the unfortunate upcoming victim's soon-to-be corpse across the floor. But it failed to reach her as a trio of strange claw-like projectiles suddenly tore through the offending arm and severed it at the elbow.

"You've caused enough death already, fiend!"

* * *

Slow raised his right arm, the sockets of its gauntlet empty until the claws he launched at the enemy returned like boomerangs and snapped back into their respective sockets with a high-pitched clang. Not wasting his time as he stepped in between the shocked asari and the towering kurozu monstrosity, "Dirge, get her to safety. I'll handle this one."

"Aye." the dutiful subordinate rushed to the matriarch's position and nonchalantly plucked her off the floor before retreating. Not even giving the organic enough time to ask questions as she found herself looking upon the two, completely baffled by the apparent youth of her rescuers.

As for the kurozu, additional machines approached it and together and formed a new arm to replace the lost one. The machine clenching its demonic jaw, "You!" it rumbled hatefully, "Perish, vanish, evaporate. These pitiful creatures deserve only death, and you won't stop us, dôji."

"Won't let you do that, scrap-for-brains." Slow replied with a devious grin, flexing his claws. "They are under our protection."

"You alone stand no chance against the likes of this platform!"

"Your platform's just a D-rank Deus ex Machina. It's about time we retire it to the scrapyard."

Deus ex Machina: Machines created by the kurozu to serve as the physical avatar of the various AI that rule over the rest. Different classes exist, depending on what these avatars are made of, this one was created from basic combat units.. and thus lands squarely on the lowest rank; D. The stronger ones, especially the S-rank consists exclusively of machines built from scratch to serve in that capacity. And the threat level rises accordingly.

Basically, it's the only known case where the kurozu choose to place an emphasis on quality over quantity.

"A tiny dôji will not stop us." the machine brought up a massive fist down on Slow, who reacted at an incredible speed. While the fist was still descending , he grabbed and climbed onto it. Before the D-rank's limited computing could realize it, he was running along the arm even as the fist connected with the floor and utterly demolished it. Optics swiveling into position to glare at the encroaching dôji before getting smashed underfoot. "You...!"

Slow grinned madly as he brought up his claws and slashed both vertically and horizontally simultaneously the moment he arrived at the shoulder, and leaped.

The D-rank managed just barely to tilt its head away to prevent decapitation, but the arm was slashed clean off, "That speed... precision... reaction time..." the hangar trembling as it howled in rage; "What is a dôji aspect doing here?" … "No matter, die!" it called out as dozens of additional squid units burst through the barrier, charging at the lone dôji before them.

"How unsightly." Slow muttered, "The view was pretty nice too. Could you do something about that?"

The air almost split in response as another two passed the barrier. Ten of the machines were cut down in nearly an instant as Ridge and Sweeper rushed in to ambush them, with elongated blade and axe. "Your wish is my command, sir." Ridge laughed as he landed on top of another squid and kicked it to the floor, smashing it to pieces.

The D-rank called the remaining units to it, and from the remaining machines at its immediate disposal configured a seventy millimeter cannon to replace its lost arm, and aimed it at the aspect who seemed busy nodding in appreciation at his comrades' efforts – apparently without a care. "Can't you see?" Slow asked as the barrel was sliced in half when the two lesser dôji sailed past it with the last of their momentum, "I make my own luck, kurozu." and raised an arm, its gauntlet rapidly splitting apart and reconfiguring itself into an elongated curved blade, "Karakuri henge! Kashima blade!"

The slice was swift, brutal, and yet filled with grace as Slow leaped and brought the sword down for a diagonal slash, and cleaved the machine perfectly in half as he passed it. The D-rank shuddered once before it was blown apart with incredible ferocity. The dôji landed gracefully, flames from the explosion licking briefly at his robe before vanishing altogether.

And yet, the monster's head managed to persist for just a little longer.. "You filth deem this a victory? No matter how many of us you destroy, it will never be enough to defeat us. You've... already... lost." before it finally broke down.

Slow sighed, feeling the thrill of battle draining from him, leaving him to stare into the flickering fire around him with deep melancholy as the rest of his subordinates approached him, "You've always been sore losers, kurozu."

* * *

A stunned silence descended on the crowd of survivors. Those who survived the bombings numbered less than a hundred, down from what used to be over six hundred. So many dead in such short time. Yet Benazia was dazzled by the sight of the four strangers that now watched the fire in the distance, like she and the others aren't even here.

It was inconceivable, to be attacked by machines that came out for them like demons of ancient mythologies, and then repelled by blades of righteousness wielded by gallant heroes. It was like a fairy tale was unfolding before her eyes.

Only, she did not know what to make of these. They almost looked like children, belonging to a species unknown to her. And... she had no idea how these could have gotten here. It quickly became apparent that at least one particular person could imagine all the questions popping up around the inside of her skull until it was ready to burst as someone placed a hand on her shoulder. One slight turn revealed it to be Doctor Mordin. She was glad he survived at least.

"Many losses. Terrible... disgusting. Fortunate to have comrades." he spoke tersely, as usual, "Breathe."

The Matriarch released a cough, realizing she was holding her breath, "Comrades... you mean, them? Who... what are they?" her voice trembling from wistfulness.

"Synthetics, from the third planet."

She very nearly paled at that revelation, "And those they fought...?"

Mordin's face looked longer than usual as he answered with uncharacteristic slowness, "The same."

"You're saying... "

"Separate factions."

Benezia got back up feeling like she's twice her age. And for someone like a matriarch, that's saying something, "How many still live?"

The salarian's hesitation was nearly non-existent. "Eighty-one survivors, fifteen wounded. Two of them grievously so. Lucky if those survive the day."

It was hard to hear the numbers. The matriarch shuddered with great mental pain as she turned to address her assistant.. if she's still alive, which was quickly proven to be the case. The younger asari sat on the floor, staring at her omni-tool like it's her only escape from this horrible reality. "Go back and see if the fleet's gotten off its collective ass! And tell the council I need to see them, on the double!"

But instead of acknowledging the order, the subordinate's horror deepened.. "Matriarch..."

"What is it now?" Benezia asked. To be perfectly honest, she was bloody tired of bad news and was willing to bet her ridiculous salary that this was going to be another one.

"The VI just detected massive ongoing enemy troop deployment at their landing site!" she answered, "Now they're headed this way!"

The matriarch solidified her stance, as if to brace herself for what's coming, "How many?"

"...Ma'am... we got thirty thousand units bearing down on our location. Time until contact; five hours."

* * *

_Location_: Central dome, the Core.

Liara looked around at the spacious interior of what is apparently the throne room, where the leaders of the dôji live. They got here immediately by using what the synthetics call a 'spatial ball'. All she saw was a glowing orb, and couldn't understand why she and the others were asked to put their hands on it. But now understood it's a mode of transportation... instantaneous travel. She couldn't believe it was possible, Tali looked especially confused... as if she had just stared into a veritable hole in the universe more profound than a black hole.

"To be honest, I was kind of expecting hideous monsters with tentacles."

The young asari turned to where the voice came from, and looked upon a slightly elevated platform not far away from them, where three dôji sat, watching the aliens with apparent interest. Though the one who spoke, a rowdy-looking one with a mean glare coming from his narrow eyes. Anywhere else she'd dismiss him as a rude child, but here... in this case? She could not deny his sheer presence, as though surrounded by a terrifying force that for a moment felt like it could tear her to pieces. His visage one of incredible strength despite his slight build.

"Vice, don't be rude." another spoke up, his red mane a striking contrast to the other one's black. Liara gasped as she looked upon this other dôji, this time reacting with sudden adoration due to his haunting beauty, rich green eyes and beautifully richly-colored ornamented gauntlets. His presence one of warmth and good welcome.

The third dôji in the middle chuckled pleasantly, "Indeed, not everything that can be spoken should be said openly." this one taller than the others, and infinitely more elegant in appearance. A presence regal to the point of divinity. Except he carried neither the light of the red-haired dôji, not the darkness of the other. Instead, he was the dawn as the sun rose to bring the world out of darkness. And the dusk when it sets, bringing an end to the light of day. An embodiment of neutrality. Gray. An unlit candle, yet radiant.

They had barely even exchanged words, and she was already stunned beyond the ability to speak. She could barely look to the others, to gauge their reactions. And saw they were just as stunned. Tali stood there, agape at the sight. Garrus and Nihlus had frozen solid, staring blankly. Saren on the other hand took an involuntary step back out of apprehension, the quickest of all of them to snap out of the daze. Liara wondered if the creator of the dôji made these three this way on purpose; expecting something like this would happen at some time in the future.

"I bid you welcome, fellow sentients." the middle one – Milieu, spoke with a grand gesture, holding his arms out wide. "If only the circumstances were more favorable."

Liara finally managed to find her voice, "T-thank you.."

"Unfortunately, the operation will begin soon. Many lives will most likely be lost, but much more will suffer if we do not act." Ultimo spoke with a sad expression, rising from the cushion he used for a seat to approach the organics. "We hear two of you won't be partaking."

"We will not be pawns to your game, machine." Saren growled.

"Citadel space have seen its fair share of synthetics, all of them so far irrevocably hostile." Nihlus said grimly, "Far as we are aware, all of this is deception."

Ultimo tapped a finger against his lower lip, "You seek the truth of things. What could convince you?"

The spectre did not hesitate, "Definite proof of Mars base being under attack. We were shown footage of ships belonging to those you call 'kurozu' leaving the atmosphere. But those could easily be fabrications."

"I understand." the dôji said slowly, nodding. "We sent a team to investigate that base before you arrived here. Though we did it solely to see if it was a prelude to an invasion."

"You were worried about an invasion by _us_?" Tali asked.

"Yes. Though in part, because we were concerned about the kurozu capturing technology that would allow them to spread beyond this world without us being able to stop them."

"Two priorities in our war against them involves containment and resource deprivation." Milieu explained further, "But because of your arrival, containment may no longer be possible... which in turn could greatly increase their ability to harvest resources without interference. Hence why the upcoming operation's an absolute necessity. It_ must _succeed."

"So, what are you going to do with us?" Nihlus asked, bringing the topic back to the subject of those not participating.

Vice grimaced, "Confinement's a waste of time. Community service while under watch is my recommendation. It'll give you some damned perspective."

"Hm, maybe at the local shrine?" Ultimo half-suggested.

Milieu smiled, bringing a fan up to his chin.. "That sounds like a good idea. They could use another pair of hands for a little while."

"Then that's settled."

Saren glared at them coldly, but the dôji seemed content to ignore the turian's demeanor.

"So... what's the plan? What are we going to do?" Garrus inquired.

"I'll be the Warmaster for the operation's duration." Ultimo spoke up. At which the alies – even Saren – stared at him in disbelief, as if they couldn't believe such a being would carry such a title, even less actually lead an army, "Six aspects will serve under me to help coordinate the troops and assist wherever able. No aspect will be able to tag along with you. Instead, you will join a squad and work in tandem with other specialized groups. Your mission is simply to investigate anything that contain the technology your species use, and extract what relevant data you can from their systems."

"So we won't be in the thick of it then?"

"No. You are to avoid getting involved in any fights involving large numbers of combatants. If you find yourself in a pickle, try to get a message sent to the closest aspects to your position, and they'll try to commit their forces to take away some of the pressure. Your mission's simply to go in, get as much information as possible.. then get out. We'll take care of the rest."

"Any questions?" Milieu asked after letting the plan sink in for a few seconds.

Garrus raised a hand, "None.. except, when?"

"Soon. We're just waiting for you to equip yourselves, and join those we've chosen for your squadron." Ultimo raised an arm, another spatial ball appearing before the trio of aliens, "If there''s no more questions, off to the armory you go."

Liara looked to both Garrus and Tali, who had been so very quiet this meeting. "Ready?" she managed to ask. From the turian, she got a firm nod. Another one came from the quarian after what might qualify as the thirty-seventh thought before proceeding. All as one, they put a hand on the orb.. and once again felt the world vanish around them before being ejected back into it, now in a dark utilitarian area with more than a dozen dôji surrounding them. She and the others reacted accordingly, thinking it to be a trap until Gauge showed himself with a reassuring smile.

"Good, you're just in time."

* * *

_Location_: Central dome, Armory.

They had just barely arrived at the place when Tali and the others were ushered into each their room, each with at least five dôji accompanying them.

Tali squirmed uncomfortably as she was told to disrobe and stand on the platform in the center of the chamber. Ghost-like blue lights lit up around her the moment she got onto it. The quarian freezing while trying to cover herself up until they gave her a blouse, a pair of pants, and matching gloves and socks, all blindingly white with red stripes.

And similar to the measuring suit earlier, the moment she finished donning these new clothes, they hissed audibly and tightened against her body. There was no sign of discomfort at least, it felt like she had been equipped with another layer of skin. Movement was no issue either.

"C'est magnifique.." one of the dôji smacked his lips with clear satisfaction. The most characteristic piece of gear worn by this dôji being a dark-green beret. And if she heard it right, his name's Lucene. "Integration going well. Green lights across the board."

"Integration?" the quarian asked with confusion.

"The suit you're wearing now serves as the interface between you and the armor you'll be given."

"How did you manage to build armor for us so fast? It's only been a couple of hours since we were measured.."

Lucene's gaze fell to the floor, "We did not create it. While preparations were made for the upcoming operation, some of us were tasked with the job of salvaging human armor from ancient battlefields. What we're about to give you were once worn by humans who fought against the kurozu. Wield what they left behind, and avenge their deaths!"

Tali curled a hand into a fist, shaking mildly as she let that information sink in. "I... will."

The synthetics around her smiled with gratification at that response. "Good." their leader said, gesturing for the others to start putting on the armor. It did not look as impressive as it sounded. Tali raised her arms at their urging for increased ease at putting it on.

She expected quite a hurdle at fastening the armor, but there was no problem. Every time a new part was put in place, a low hiss could be heard, followed by a soft click as something inside was shunted into place.

"The armor's easy to modulate. So basically, when it comes to human armor, one size fits all. It was more difficult to change them to fit the alien bird, but we found a way around it." him describing Garrus as an alien bird made Tali giggle inwardly, but quickly moved on.

"What can you tell me about this suit?" Tali asked, curling her left hand once again the first glove had been put on.

"It is basically a type of power armor which can easily adapt to changing battlefield conditions and possess several unique functions you'll have to try out for yourselves. Too little time for a tutorial. Know that this system's linked with your own nervous system through the interface suit. It responds according to your own thoughts, instincts and changing exterior conditions. If you get hit for example, the armor's density will momentarily increase dramatically to protect you."

"Sounds unbeatable..."

"But it isn't." another of the dôji spoke up as he brought the helmet.. "It's not recommended to test it to its very limits. The kurozu for example got special strains of poison which not even the filters on this suit can protect you from."

"No shields?"

"My pardon, energy shielding wasn't even a consideration when the suit was made. Humans had nearly a thousand years to perfect defense technology to the point that it became far too good. Which is why their weaponry ended up going full circle, with the reemergence of archaic weaponry such as swords and spears, though properly advanced applications of said weapons, mind you. So human warfare eventually came to revolve around the classical rock-paper-scissors formula."

While it was being explained, Tali closed her eyes as the helmet was lowered and sealed into place, a sophisticated HUD appeared around the edges of her vision as if it was projected directly into her field of vision instead of simply showing up on the inside of the visor. The quarian felt incredible as her new suit activated fully, as she marveled at how light it felt overall. Not only that, it felt like it's an extension of her own body instead of merely being a piece of equipment. "Amazing... unreal."

"Feels good, huh?" Lucene grinned from ear to ear, his subordinates similarly amused by her reaction to the donned armor.

"Y-yeah.." Tali had to admit.

"Hold on, before we move on.. put this on." the dôji said, giving her a dark-gray cloak with white stripes.

"What's this...?"

"Exactly what it looks like." he replied, "It's just a uniform, but got a few functions of its own."

Tali put it on, and found some appreciation in it. The armor's so light it felt like she's naked, so the cloak was a welcome addition.

"Looks good on you. But now, lets move on to weaponry." they quickly led her over to the next room, and to a table in the far end, where a number of armaments had been arrayed. She did not stray too close, but scanned them with great interest.

"This..." Lucene began, plucking up a small dual-barreled pistol, which was surprisingly glossy.. "We simply refer to it as a 'Gnat'. Basically, it's a ray-gun. An energy weapon if the prior description's too quaint."

Tali crossed her arms, looking nonplussed.. "I understand."

"Trés bien." the dôji replied.. "It's a semi-automatic weapon, fires as quickly as you can pull the trigger. It also got two firing modes, the first is what you can expect from any pistols. While the second unleash a powerful single blast. Very powerful yes, but drains battery quickly. Shouldn't use the second mode unless it's an emergency." handing the gun over to the quarian along with four batteries. "Dôji can recharge them, but don't push too hard. It can be quite degrading for some."

"Um, thank you." Tali said, examining the gun curiously up close, "Anything else?"

"Why, yes. This..." Lucene picked up what looked like a rifle, "This one we call the 'Chimera'. It's also an energy weapon. It got two modes; Assault rifle, and Shotgun." handing it over once the alien holstered the pistol. And then went over to the last weapon on the table, "Mono-molecular Falchion." which he quickly unsheathed. Revealing it's a single-edged sword.

Tali was definitely more nervous about the last one.. "Um, do I really need that? I mean..."

"Did you not pay attention to what's been said so far? Against some kurozu, an archaic weapon's more of an ideal countermeasure than guns." he promptly sheathed it, "Here, take it."

She only accepted it with great reluctance. "I... Is that all, then?"

"Yes, now's time to get back to your comrades. A spatial ball's waiting in the next room. Those chosen to join your squad will be waiting there also."

Tali looked at the door Lucene referred to and approached it. Stopping for a moment, with a hand against the door.. "Thank you."

"No problem." Lucene chuckled, "Good hunting, and good fortune." the others with him giving a curt bow in unison.

The quarian gave a slightly forced smile before stepping through to touch the ball hovering just a couple of feet away – and sensed once again the strange tug as the world vanished around her.

* * *

_Location_: Unknown.

She emerged, and found herself standing on a plateau overlooking a massive empty cave... except, it wasn't. Across its expanse, she could see nothing but dôji covering the area like a carpet. Thousands, tens of thousands at least. All of them grouping up around hundreds of spatial balls.

"You're late, Tali."

The quarian turned to see Garrus standing not far away, wearing a matching cloak with the armor he was given partially hidden underneath it. Regarding weapons, he was given the same type of pistol.. and an elongated rifle different from her own.. probably one that can function as a sniper rifle in addition to something else. But he seemed particularly enamored by the massive Claymore he kept swinging around with utter glee, sporting a grin so wide it very nearly split his head in half. "You just missed one hell of a speech."

"So, what's going on now?" Tali asked. Getting to the point. Looking to the asari further away, who's melee weapon seemed to revolve around thrusting and piercing rather than slashing and cutting.

"Believe it or not, but the numbers you see now are just a fraction of the army's size. I don't know the specifics of their strategy yet though."

'There are _more_ of them out there?' Tali asked herself.

"Good, now everyone's here." another one spoke up. Tali and Garrus turned to see a dôji who's head seemed to consist of little more than a helmet, with glowing eyes beyond the visor. "My name's Promina. I'll be in charge of communication, please take good care of me." offering a polite bow immediately after.

Liara approached and placed a hand on the dôji's head, "Much appreciated, Promina. We look forward to working with you."

Two more dôji appeared behind him. The first one with cropped blonde hair, with a pair of antiquated goggled hanging around his neck. His facial expression seemed to be very comfortably settled into a frown, which the asari guessed was his primary expression. "Name's Nail. Better appreciate my presence, case no one knows more about the kurozu than I do.. except the aspects." he growled.

The other one laughed merrily, giving Nail's back a well-humored slap. Tali blinked at the sight of him, the darkest-skinned dôji she had seen so far was the one they call Désir. But this one's far beyond that with his auburn skin-tone, other notable features being his bushy pitch black hair, and a simple necklace. Every dôji seemed to wear a kimono and hakama in some shape and form, the only real differences in regards to clothing came down to accessories. "Come on, Nail. Some modesty won't hurt ya." he said before brushing past his comrade, "Name's Cole. I'm the heavy weapons guy. Set 'em up and I'll knock 'em down so hard they'll be spewing rust for weeks _if _they ever recover at all."

Promina seemed very interested in the latter dôji as he approached him.. "Cole. As in _the_ Fireball-Cole?"

"Yeah, that's right." Cole chuckled heartily, shooting both his thumbs into the air.

"What.. is he a big celebrity or something?" Garrus asked.

"Aye." Promina said almost dreamily, "He's the star player of Rush-ball."

"And what's that?"

"Only one of our more prominent sports." Nail groaned, rolling his eyes. "Rush-ball's basically a mixture of ancient rugby, marathon and Russian roulette. The field's four miles long, with a goal at either end. The use of both legs, arms and head is legal. And the ball got a 1/100 chance of secreting a liquid on touch that causes an explosion when exposed to oxygen. Dangerous to organics, but to dôji; the resulting damage's very light. It's for shock value, makes the player drop the ball. Cole here broke every record before he even entered the championships.. he has also been blown up more than everyone else. Crazy bugger."

Garrus managed a whistle, "Damn, I can imagine the tension."

"Wouldn't be Rush-ball without a whole lot of it."

"Do we have time for this though?" Tali asked, "Shouldn't we prepare to join in? What's the plan?"

Promina raised a hand, "No worries. We were told to wait here until Ultimo decides to spawn a spatial ball at our location. By then, the battle will be well underway. Most of those still here in this cavern's the ambush army. Everyone else will first try to pull the kurozu defenses away from the factory, then the ambush force will deploy and insert themselves neatly between the enemy army, and the factory. We should be able to obliterate a large portion of their defenses this way."

Nail took it from there, "With the loss of so many units, the remaining defenses will strain themselves to the utmost. And thus will very possibly include Deus ex Machinas. This will allow us to slip by, and move in."

"What are those?" Garrus was quick to ask.

"Huh?"

"Deus ex Machina."

"They're the Avatars used by AI to interact with the physical world directly. They're very powerful, but it also means they get a little bit of tunnel vision."

"Which means their appearance opens a gap in their defenses?"

"Sort of. Honestly, I don't want to meet any of those sacks of rust. Encountered an A-rank one, once. Ripped right through my squad."

Tali shuddered at what she was hearing. Those things sounded like a real nightmare. She couldn't even harm a dôji with her old weapons.. the thought of an enemy even _they_ can't handle very well did not fill her with much hope.

"Plainly. If we find one close to our location.. I'll try to call for the closest aspect for support. For all their power, most Deus ex Machinas can't compete with the aspects."

"We shouldn't depend on them too much." Garrus noted, "There's so few of them aspects in the first place, and they'll be busy coordinating the army. If we encounter one, lets try and deal with it ourselves."

Liara nodded, "I agree. Besides, my biotics should be able to help improve our chances."

Nail's eyes narrowed into a scowl, "Biotics? What's that?"

"Um.." Liara raised an eyebrow at him, "It's... well, the term refers to lifeforms capable of creating mass effect fields. Most races can only use biotics by implanting Element Zero nodules in their body tissue. Though a few are biotics naturally from birth, such as my people."

The blonde dôji nodded, but did not appear wholly satisfied, "Can you go more in depth? How does it work? The science behind it if you will."

"You sure you want me to tell you all of that now?" the asari hesitated, "It's not that much time until..."

"Oh, we got time." Nail shrugged, "Spill it."

The others watched the two go at it with some exasperation, especially the other organics over Liara's' willingness to share such information. Garrus placed a hand against his face.. The promised spatial ball just could not come fast enough.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Intrusion**

* * *

_Date_: 2151 CE.

_Location_: The Citadel; Central tower.

"Councilor."

Tevos was in the process of preparing for yet another session in the chambers, this time yet another political strife caused by the Batarian Hegemony. Seriously, she was starting to tire from the endless number of scandals caused by the four-eyed aliens'. Their record had been stained pitch black by several thousand years worth of mischief.

She just barely managed to go through a change of clothes when one of her trusted aides appeared at the door, "What is it?" Tevos asked.

"Matriarch Benezia wishes to see you. She says it's urgent."

The councilor considered this, "How urgent?"

"Oron-red, unless I'm mistaken."

Tevos gasped. It's an order that originated from the Rachni wars, specifically given during desperate situations where the battlefield's in a state of imminent collapse, ordering all surviving soldiers to retreat at all cost... or face annihilation. "Forward the call here immediately."

The aide replied in the positive and left in a hurry while Tevos herself sat down behind her desk.. watching as the projector on its gray surface sparked into life. But as the image of Benezia appeared, and gradually stabilized, the councilor was overwhelmed by shock by the Matriarch's ragged appearance. Her clothes dirty and torn, wearing an expression of cold terror and rage. Tevos had never seen her this discomposed before. "Matriarch, what happened to you?"

"The expedition's under attack." Benezia said with a trembling voice, desperately trying to calm herself, "Our orbital defenses have been destroyed, and most of our personnel were wiped out during the first wave, which came during evacuation. The shuttles were also destroyed in the process."

This was unprecedented, "H-how many survivors?"

"Less than a hundred. Second wave of the enemy assault will arrive within the next few hours. Opposing force number in the tens of thousands. We're currently retreating into the prothean archives, the only suitable places to mount a defense against a siege."

"What about Saren and his team?"

"They went to the third planet along with a couple of volunteers to investigate Dr. Mornoa's crew's disappearance. But we've lost contact with them."

"And Desolas...? He's supposed to be there if the expedition's endangered."

Benezia curled her fist in anger, "He hasn't done anything yet. We've tried to call, but he's been ignoring us since his brother went missing."

"What...?" that was unheard of.. for most turians, to abandon duty like that... especially over something personal, like a grudge... "That _is_ serious.. I assure you, I will forward this issue to the hierarchy! Even criminal turians would never even think of disobeying a direct order from a superior officer."

"Pray, be quick. We don't have much time left." Benezia nervously looked to the side as static blurred across her image. Outside the room, something emitted a mechanical screech. Tevos had never heard anything quite like it. "N-no..."

"What _is_ that noise?"

"About the enemies we face... they're synthetics. Sentient machines with more eyes than even yagh can look into. Ruthless and merciless. The first signal we picked up coming from the third planet was just a lure to bring us close enough to acquire our technology.. and now they're after the cache here."

Tevos in her terror almost forgot to breathe as she tried to digest that information, she thought the threat was something else entirely..

The sound in the background grew louder, the walls shaking around the Matriarch as whatever produced the wails clomped its way closer. A razor-sharp blue aura surrounding the frightened Benezia as she shrank away from the wall from which the commotion was the loudest. Then it became dreadfully quiet, like the calm before a storm. Then the wall collapsed inwardly as the unknown enemy forced its way in. Sensing its prey within.

The councilor leaned away from the screen, deeply disturbed by the sight. The thing coming in looked like a demon from Hanar folklore, and covered by eyes in places they weren't supposed to be. Each tentacle ending in a quarter of sharpened claws clasping restlessly, eager for slaughter.

Benezia retaliated against its presence by knocking it away with a biotic attack, yet it remained undeterred as it recovered and clawed its way forward. The main body hovered in a manner recognizable by those familiar with biotics, but its tentacles dug into the floor and ceiling and advanced.. trying to charge the elder asari.

To the councilor, it looked like Benezia was about to get torn to pieces by the automaton. But that was not to be. A blast suddenly tore through the machine from behind and sent its remains crashing to the floor.

A lone individual climbed over the wreckage, a tall and slender figure with a brilliant dark mane appear, carrying exotic weaponry sticking out of the sleeves of its elegant suit. The person's eyes set on Benezia, "Why did you come here without protection...? Your subordinates were worried." blinking with a degree of surprise as he turned his attention to the councilor's image. "... Hoh?"

Tevos stared wide-eyed at the figure standing atop the machine's corpse. Before the expedition was launched, the council had full access to its roster. This stranger, whoever it is.. was not on it at all. "Er... thank you for saving the Matriarch, but... who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" the being mimicked her question with added emphasis.

The councilor almost flinched at getting the question thrown back.. and stood up to her full height, "I am Tevos, electee of the asari seat on the Council, the highest authority in Citadel space."

The person's eyes widened in recognition at the impressive presentation and drew himself up to his full height, which wasn't all that much compared to the asari, "I am Slow, Aspect of Diligence. Representative of my people; the Dôji."

"A new species. By any chance, were you the creators of those things?" it was a wild guess if nothing else.

Slow narrowed his eyes slightly, "No, the humans were the progenitors of both our factions."

"Progenitors...?"

Benezia got up and recomposed herself, "I'm not sure I believe it fully myself. There are apparently two separate synthetic species on the third planet."

Tevos was bewildered by this piece of information, and barely managed to bury her shocked expression in time. She always thought all synthetics – with no exceptions – would be strictly utilitarian in appearance. Yet, as if in direct defiance to that thought, this one's appearance focused on aesthetics to an almost stunning degree.

"Haven't I made that quite clear already?" Slow asked the Matriarch, a little annoyed.

"Then I ask you... Where is Saren's team?" Tevos asked.

He tilted his head at that question, "Don't know." Slow replied, "Possibility is, those people arrived after I left for Mars. That is.. this planet."

"How about an educated guess as to their current status?" the question was almost shaped like a test.

Slow frowned, "Depends. Dead if kurozu found them. Alive if they're with my kind. If neither, they're probably in a place where they can't be reached easily. There are many locations with heavily fortified structures signals can't penetrate easily." delivering a shrug as he paused, "Anyway, this is not a good time to have this conversation." the dôji now approaching the Matriarch while reaching out for her. The weapon on the offered hand transforming neatly into what could qualify as a hand; each finger being an elongated claw with three holes down the middle each, "We need to make haste. The others are waiting for us down in the archives."

Tevos nodded, "Matriarch Benezia, I pray help gets there in time, until then please stay alive."

"I will most certainly try..." the elder asari replied, accepting the dôji's hand before the image faded away. Leaving the councilor to contemplate what she had just seen before hurrying over to the door, not even bothering to finish her preparations. Just outside, she came across the aide from before.

"M-miss, the meeting has begun." the fellow asari managed to utter with urgency despite her usual meek tone.

"It'll have to wait. I need to see Sparatus at once. Something huge is happening as we speak, and must be dealt with! The lives of many depends on it!" the council said sternly as she rushed past the assistant, heading directly to the council chambers to meet with her turian colleague.

* * *

_Date_: Late 8th April, 3573 A.D. One hour after operation-start.

_Location_: Gobi scrapyards.

Liara was momentarily overwhelmed by the distant clamor of battle as she emerged from another spatial orb. She looked up, examining the dark and dreary skies as she tried to find the source of all that noise. But wherever it was, it's far away from their position.

This was the location of a major city, a marvel of engineering built centuries ago. There used to be many such cities, but after the kurozu came to power, many of them were stripped bare to supply the factories with raw materials. Now, some of them served as naught but garbage bins, filled with useless junk waiting to be put to use, if at all. Some remained, but most of what humans left behind still relatively undamaged were ancient settlements previously maintained because of their cultural value, so as to make sure the people would never forget those that came before them. Their saving grace now being the lack of materials deemed useful.

But they would also had been obliterated – merely out of spite – if not for their ongoing war with the dôji.

Liara thought of that even as she shuddered from the cold winds blasting through the street they arrived at. Her new armor adjusting its interior temperature to a more comfortable level accordingly. She simply felt a need to protect herself from the cold, and the armor followed suit and did just that, much to her relief.

Once in the past when she read about the history of war, she were most concerned with the loss of many things of high cultural value, which were hit indiscriminately. Yet here, war's the only thing preventing that from happening. Instead, time's doing it for them.

The asari wandered close to a nearby wall, part of what used to be a tall building judging by the height of the fragment and placed her hand against it. She could feel its incredible smoothness even through the suit, like touching it with her naked hand. This examination was cut short as Promina prodded against her hip with a solitary finger, "Excuse me, but there's no time for sight-seeing."

"I'm an archaeologist, Promina. I've been studying ancient cultures for fifty years. It's something strange to me... to pass old ruins filled with history, yet not examine them..."

"Then.. I'll bring you to one of our libraries if we survive this. They're filled with artifacts we've collected from ruins across the globe since our war began."

Liara turned to the helmeted dôji, her eyes practically sparking, "Would you?"

"Yes. But right now, we need to go." the dôji said as he curled his gauntlet around her right hand, and pullled her along with no further questions asked. Together, they went to the ruined plaza ahead, where the rest had gathered.

* * *

_Five minutes later..._

_Location_: Gobi scrapyards; plaza.

"Okay.." Nail told the rest, pointing to the west, where the factory could be seen, towering over them. "Our entry point is two kilometers from the wall, where we'll dig our way into the place."

"Where's the fighting going on?" Tali asked, "I can hear the battle.. but can't see the faintest sign of it." she looked to the sky, "Above the clouds?"

"...Those aren't clouds."

The organics blinked and stared at him, "Er, what?" the quarian asked, flabbergasted.

"Clouds only form at a minimum height of six thousand feet on this planet. Don't you see those above hanging too low?"

"Now that you mention it..." Garrus whispered in realization. The clouds they're looking at seem to hover only eight hundred feet above them, give or take.

"Airborne nano-tech shroud. Some human cities had 'em.. but only a few shrouds remain. Used to provide various degrees of shade, and only cover a set area. The war wiped out that which controlled the shrouds, so now they're stuck there with no way to adjust them."

"Honestly..." Cole laughed, "Don't sweat the details. We'll know once we clear the shroud. Come on, time's a wastin'."

Garrus nodded, "Any word from the other groups heading in?"

"Nothing. Infiltration groups are supposed to maintain silence." Promina said, communications essentially being his forte – kept his ear glued to the wall, figuratively speaking. "A lot of traffic across the battle-net though."

"Alright. Nail, lead the way."

Nail filtered his fingers together and cracked the joints, "Leave it to me." and turned to run along the path ahead, followed quickly by the rest.

They ran in a single file line for many long minutes across the junk-filled ruins, towards their objective. The first sign of them being physically near the battle zone came when a fireball slammed its way through the artificial clouds above and crashed into the ground nearby, followed quickly by several more as they hurried forward, unimpeded by the increasing number of impacts.

Soon enough, they cleared the shroud and halted dead in their tracks at a sight beyond the organics' imagination. Above them, the entire sky had been lit in fire. Filled with myriads of explosions which flickered and blossomed for an instant before vanishing, and instantly replaced by another. A firestorm carpeting the sky from end to end. Filled with what looked like incredibly massive schools of fish swimming through the fire like it's water, the schools curling and swarming around one another. A swirling dance of death that produced even more fire to light the heavens.

It looked like a manifestation of hell, yet a the same time it was eerily beautiful. Garrus and the others watched, awestruck by the view.

Below the main battle, the factory had burst aflame in multiple locations as attacking formations of dôji swept down to obliterate its exterior ground-side defenses before retreating back into the sky to rejoin the rest, sometimes instead counter-flanking kurozu attempts to flank their enemies, or cutting off those straying too far from the main swarm.

"W-who's winning? They're so far away I can't tell.." Tali asked breathlessly, stunned by the sight.

Promina tilted his head to the side, listening to ongoing communications before answering, "It's a bit of a stalemate at the moment. At the moment, Ultimo's army number slightly less than a hundred thousand combatants. The enemy however number in the millions."

"How's _that_ a stalemate?"

"Contrasting combat philosophies that create a rather peculiar balance."

"We aren't supposed to watch though. People are dying up there." Nail grunted, making a wide gesture for everyone to get moving, "The entry point's just minutes ahead of us."

And right he was, it did not take long for them to reach the designated place. Only, it's covered by plain old-fashioned concrete.

"Get in cover you guys." Cole announced with a confident grin, "I'll have this ripped up in a second."

"Wait a minute, you're not going to..." Nail said, watching as Cole had his right arm transform into a huge hammer. The blonde dôji faltered slightly and yelled at the others; "Get out of dodge!" before throwing himself behind the closest available wall.

The organics – naturally – turned and ran for cover. Seeing how both Nail and Promina panicked over what Cole's about to do, raised a significant alarm in their heads.

But Cole simply grinned as he brought the hammer over his head, braced himself and sent the hammer crashing down. Resulting in thunderous clap that crumpled the ground and sent showers of broken concrete flying in every direction like projectiles, flying so fast some managed to pierce through the walls still standing. Much to the horror of those cowering behind them.

It took a while before anyone dared to come out of cover, the first which was an enraged Nail, who bellowed belligerently at a largely unaffected and laughing Cole in a foreign language none of the aliens recognized until he finally rolled up his sleeves and got down onto the now-exposed metal plates underneath the now-pulverized concrete to start cutting through. In an act of comradeship, Garrus dropped down and drew the sword he had been given. Driving its mono-molecular edge into the metal, which was sliced apart with surprising ease. "You go that way, I'll go this way.." the turian suggested, the two working together to cut open a hole big enough for them all to enter, and big enough to exit through in a hurry if things go south.

Underneath it, they found a network of pipes which stretched outward, away from the factory. At this they had little choice but to snake their way down. And Garrus insisted on taking point in this, climbing down while hefting his new rifle.

"What do you see?" Nail asked, following the turian down.

There was no answer at first, until Garrus let out a swift and urgent; "W-whoa.. There's a big room below.. Floor's too far down to see."

"Wait, let me see.." the dôji quickly climbed down the final set of pipes and looked at what seemed like a bottomless pit.. but only because of how dark it is. "There's a floor below alright.." he dropped down and landed on what was unmistakably the floor just three feet below them. Stomping at it for good measure, "Adjust your suit's light settings. There's no light at all in this place."

The turian frowned, and tried to do that, only for his suit to become radiant mid-thought. It wasn't just the visor that adjusted, the whole surface of the armor glowed.

"Look here.. a turian-shaped light bulb." Cole could barely restrain himself from yet another jovial laugh as he got down and watched Garrus look down at his armored hands in confusion.

"Garrus, here." Tali said, seeing the problem.. and with a solution ready from the looks of it as she didn't glow at all. Yet had no trouble finding her way around in this darkness, "Cancel the lights. And set your vision on these settings. Environment in gray with outlines in yellow. Us in green. Unidentified in orange. Hostiles in red. Thought of this while on the way here, works just fine over here."

The turian seemed confused for a moment until he tried it, the radiance faded quickly, followed by a pleased; "Ah... that's better, thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Trying that.." Liara had finally managed to get down, and she was to the amusement of the others clutching Promina's outstretched hand like he's a seeing-eye hound. "...but I'm not sure I've gotten the hang of it yet."

"Keep trying." Garrus coughed, "Now, where do we go from here?"

"That's the question. Isn't it?" Nail shrugged. "We got no map of the interior."

"So we got to _walk_ around randomly and _hope_ we get lucky?" Tali didn't like that at all, and it showed as her visor glowed red, as if to mimic her annoyance. "Screw that.. let's find a place we can use to tap into their info-net." turning to the pipes above, "Cut open one of those, let's see what's inside."

Cole pushed himself forward, and went to work with a circular saw-henge. The rest were quick to take a step back as he worked, and quickly cut out a big enough slice for them to peer at the interior, filled with an abundance of cables.

"That will do. One of you, give me a boost. Thank you." the quarian stepped onto the outstretched hand offered by auburn-skinned dôji, and was lifted up to the cables where she immediately opened up her omni-tool and went to work.

"Sure you can crack it with that?"

"Of course I can. I just need to do a little... there... there...and_ there_!"

"Got it already?"

"The interface is weird – but... the programs here. Give me a moment to access."

Distant clomping sounded off in the distance as something began its approach. "We got company." Nail announced the obvious.

"Get in cover, let it come to us." Garrus said as he ducked behind the closest protrusion in the floor, peering into the dark with his gun ready. Promina did not prepare for combat, and instead formed a tall shield with both of his gauntlets, acting as a wall for both Cole and Tali.

They waited there, nearly frozen with the tension as the noise approached until it for some reason stopped. Whatever it was, it's right outside their line of vision. Considering the range of vision the suits provided, and the sharpened sense of the dôji, that's pretty far out.. "Steady now..." the turian lowered his voice to a whisper, those that could raised their weapons and aimed down the tunnel ahead. Waiting restlessly.. until two machines suddenly burst from the shadows and raced for them. Bulbous constructs with turrets mounted on top. The first one fired, launching a transparent "beam" that struck Promina's wall head-on – but instead of the expected explosion, a thick sheet of ice spread across its surface, much to his discomfort.

_Freezers_, kurozu units programmed to hunt and destroy intruders without damaging the facility in the process. Basically, the Freezer's armament consists of a launcher that shoots beams of liquid nitrogen. A terrifying weapon to organics especially, and all who could opened fire as one once they realized the nature of this weapon.

The first machine shuddered as its frontal armor was pounded by the heavy incoming fire, but continued charging and shooting anyway until Garrus managed to blow a hole through its gun, greatly harming its offensive capability. A few more shots and it slid to the side and doubled over. Leaving one remaining as it without hesitation punched its way past the ruined machine to continue the assault.

Garrus winced as he heard Liara let out a shrill shriek when another beam flew past overhead. Instead of looking, he pulled the trigger again, watching most of his shots bounce off the armor with widening eyes as he realized the size of the thing. The Freezer towered over them all, the turret adjusting itself accordingly as it came closer.

But then Nail broke cover and closed the distance, bringing up his right arm for a punch while initiating a henge, "Raven's scale!" the result; a pilebunker-type weapon he promptly struck the machine with, using its forward momentum to drive the overly large pointed jackhammer-shaped battering ram through its armor.. displacing and pulverizing much of its more vulnerable insides.

The Freezer emitted a pitched alarm before the finishing blow was dealt, reducing it to a broken wreck. Failing to even burn as its liquid nitrogen ammunition-pack was ruptured by the strikes, spreading the contents all over the interior.

"Damn, why didn't you use _that _on the concrete above?"

"Because Cole beat me to the punch, bird." Nail grunted before he let out a low chuckle, "Heh.. to the punch..."

"Stop that and thaw my arms already!" Promina whined further back as he tried to undo the wall.

Liara was more on Garrus' mind though as he left his position and ran over to the asari, who clutched her left arm.. "How bad is it?"

"N-nothing to worry about too much.." Liara groaned while rubbing the affected hand, "It was a glancing blow, so the suit managed to protect me from most of it. Think I've gotten a mild case of frostbite despite it though."

"As long as you don't get gangrene, I think that won't be a problem.. Now, thaw my arms please.." Promina wasn't happy about being ignored like this.

"Shut up, just stand still..." Nail told him as he came over.. rubbing a hand over the sheets of ice, "Tali'Zorah, you've found anything yet?"

The quarian almost huffed the answer after a pause, completely engrossed in the search. "The system has shut me out, but I've found what looks like an underground tunnel. A very big one leading into the heart of the factory ahead, and a few kilometers below. Think the ship was brought here through it?"

"... Could be... Is it the only one?"

"Yes."

"Then we might as well start searching the terminus of that tunnel and hope we're lucky."

"After you get my arms loose..." Promina sniffed.

"Hahaha ... You're such a little whiner." Cole chuckled as he let the quarian down, flexing his shoulder after.

Nail however chided Cole in a playful manner right away for that, "Like you're the one to talk. You were talking all that tough rust back at that brothel in Northern dome just a little ago in front of _Désir_, thinking you could take anything he could think of. Look what happened there.." the blonde dôji leaned a little closer, "It only took a minute for him to make you _whimper_ like a little _bitch_, begging for more."

Cole blushed in embarrassment, but Promina quickly shot a question in before the auburn-colored dôji could say anything about it; "You managed to get a close encounter with Désir? Aw, I'm so jealous. The waiting lines are so long I've given up on meeting him."

Liara watched this exchange, her jaw dropping in astonishment, the pain momentarily forgotten. She has heard conversations very similar to this one concerning Sha'ira the Consort on the Citadel. The asari wanted to inquire about it, but Garrus was notably less interested about the whole thing as he stamped the butt of his rifle against the floor.

"Can you guys please focus?" negating the mood in an instant.

"Y-yes... you're right." Nail stuttered all of a sudden, awkwardly breaking off the rest of the ice, freeing Promina, who thanked him meekly in response. "Tali, you got the map.. lead on."

And so Tali found herself in the very comforting position of leading the pack as they left the position and moved on, towards the heart of the factory.

* * *

_Three hours later..._

_Location_: Mars; Prothean archives.

The battle's on. The sky above the base was full of murderous machines, while a horde of them were already at work tearing the buildings on the ground apart like wet cardboard. But nowhere were the activity more hectic than what's going on deep within the dig site, raging through the top levels of the submerged tiered structure. Minutes of raging combat and slaughter were only briefly stopped at uneven intervals as the defenders were gradually pushed back deeper into the structure, while sealing every one of the doors along the way in order to slow the invading machines down. A respite lasting only until the kurozu manage to cut their way through. Thoroughly obsessed far beyond the point of madness with the annihilation of the organics still alive, who fought in order to stay alive. To buy enough time for the council to send them the aid they desperately needed.

Slow stopped to look over the rest as yet another door was closed, but even now.. the machines could be heard clawing at its surface on the other side. These organics had so far fought like mad dogs. Still, their numbers are slowly dwindling. And the kurozu could easily afford grinding them down slowly despite their apparent rush. So far, about five of them had been grabbed and pulled away into the metallic horde where they got ripped to bloody shreds.

The aspect walked past the already-exhausted organics to check up on the lesser dôji under his command. Sweeper had been injured, but otherwise they're all accounted for. The only ones not present happened to be a few of the civilians, most of which had been recruited as militia and supplied weapons for. The rest are several floors below them.. Mordin tending to the wounded. And Benezia overseeing the opening of sealed doors below them with a couple of surviving quarians, who happened to be very well-suited for the job. Buying the defense precious ground for further retreat.

Maintaining a fixed defense in this situation is pure madness. It would be like a small dam trying to hold back a colossal tidal wave.

The kurozu's advances had so far cost them about three hundred units. But that does not even dent an army numbering in the tens of thousands. Especially not if they're willing to absorb casualties in order to complete their objectives. But they were more than willing to pick up the wrecks and use them as shields while at it.

Another problem was most of the security personnel's distrust of them. Every one of them kept a wary eye on him and the other dôji. They're not acting very friendly to say the least. The only reason they are cooperating is because Benezia ordered them to. That they're allies did not discount the fact that the dôji are synthetics too, just like those trying to kill them all right now. Along the way, he veered rather close to a turian, who backed away instantly with a grip placed solidly on his shotgun. "Rest easy. It's not like I'm sizing you up for something..."

"Just... stay away from me." the alien hissed, and left. The surviving lieutenant among them had given the order to fall back to next defensive line.

He placidly watched them go before following them. The amount of activity on the other side increasing steadily. "Let's go, guys."

"Colder than any Freezers I've met." Dirge muttered.

"They're not trying to shoot us anymore though. I'd call that an upgrade." Ridge said with a tiny grin.

Sweeper echoed the sentiment as he got up, still clutching his damaged side, "Right..."

By the time they got there a minute later, the door they left behind's already on the verge of falling apart. Metal creaking as the relentless machines managed to claw holes through it. Smaller machines squeezing through to help dismantle it from the other side. A large slam announced a major breach. And once again, the defenders prepared to fight and try to slow their advance.

The organics opened fire all at once when the first machines of this wave appeared from around the corner and flew at them. Their weapons weren't too effective against armored targets, but they managed to inflict some damage. Chipping off pieces of the armor, ruining the optics, chopping off tentacles. Thrown grenades blew holes in the swarm, and disrupted their movements. But the fight was not entirely one-sided as Hounds took position behind the all-purpose squids.

Hounds, modeled after the long dead lupine species, are specialized minor fire-support units. One of them took aim and opened fire, the projectile traveled neatly past the whirly masses of tentacles between it and the target without harming any of the attacking units, and scored a hit. An asari fell limply as the projectile pierced her skull. The others trying to ignore the resulting spray of blood, instead maintaining their fire.

Slow raised an arm and shot the hound in question, gutting it on the spot. "Hounds are priority targets. Don't let them fire." and promptly destroyed the next two in his immediate field of vision before increasing the caliber of his gun-henge by thirty millimeters, and switched to rapid-fire with an additional couple of barrels. Now showering the general swarm itself, and soon managed to put at least thirty units out of commission. Covering the stained floor with even more debris, which were quickly put to use by the enemy as makeshift barriers.

The organics and dôji all continued to maintain sustained fire while retreating slowly. Leaving the lone asari corpse behind, which the kurozu wasted no time in tearing apart like a toy. Partly out of everlasting spite, and to demoralize the aliens.

"C-curse you, fucking machines!" one of the aliens grew increasingly furious at this diabolical act. His aim quickly going haywire.

"Don't waste ammunition." Dirge tried to reason with the – understandably – enraged turian. "If you wish to avenge her death, then..."

"Shut up, shut up!" the alien shouted and pulled his pistol out, aiming it at Dirge, who flinched at the perceived threat, "You're a machine too, how about I-?"

"Oh.. this is neither the time or the place!" Dirge complained. The turian in his fury had – against all logic – stopped falling back. And in an act of hair-tearing frustration bolted forward, grabbed the alien by his wrists and pulled him along past the others, away from the action.

"Hey, you-!" another one cried out in outrage at this sudden act.

"Shut up and keep firing." the lieutenant shouted, "Control yourselves, or we're all dead!" but despite his attempts, was eventually was to call for a retreat as the soldiers' discipline fell apart from sheer suspicion. One of them being all alone with one of the dôji was too much for them to tolerate.

It's just one huge mess. With everyone falling back, the dôji had to follow suit as well if they wanted to avoid getting shut out. And with no one to oppose them, the enemy charged across the now empty expanse until they met with yet another blast door put into place by the defenders.

On the other side, the air exploded with arguments. Many ignoring their own fatigue as they gathered around and yelled at Dirge, who was already knee-deep in arguing with the turian he carried away. Guns clenched in his left gauntlet along with a heat sink on the floor testified to a case of intentional friendly fire.

The lieutenant, who's name he had given up on pronouncing – tried to stop their wrangling. But even with the perfect drill-sergeant-style barking he put up, they ignored him.

In the end, Slow lost his patience with this nonsense and curled his fist. With no warning, he punched the wall not far from them with enough to crumple it and leave a very clear imprint of his gauntlet on its surface. All of the organics, and even his subordinates – jumped in surprise and whirled around to stare at him.

The aspect could see the continued anger in the aliens' faces, now possessing a sort of '_I knew it could not be trusted_' gleam to them. This made Slow's face contort in raw anger, gone was his pleasant exterior as he ventured to yell at them; "Enough! Enough! You've hated us from the start, I get it. Thinking we'll betray you at first opportunity just because we're machines. If that's so, why did we even bother to intervene in the hangar? Why are we even here helping you hold the line? We've had _countless_ chances to slaughter the lot of you, yet we haven't. Now I ask you, why is that?"

A salarian stepped in with an answer; "Because-"

"You needed something to blame." Slow did not let him finish, "A scapegoat. It always falls back to the same old pathetic excuses. Searching for an outlet for your anger, no matter how weak the justifications are." he took what looked like a deep breath, "Now, enough with all this arguing. It won't get us anywhere but closer to the jaws of death." gesturing to the blast door, which shuddered as the kurozu on the other side hammered it. "Hate and dislike us all you want, but keep them to yourselves. I for one would prefer for everyone to get out of this alive. But... there is one little thing..."

Slow then approached the group, which split apart to the sides until he arrived at the soldier who was responsible for shooting the quite shaken Dirge so deliberately, ".. If you try to harm one of my subordinates again, I'll do to you as I did to the wall over there. Is that warning clear enough for you?"

At this point, all the one on which the focus of his attention lay, could do nothing but to offer a barely restrained; "Crystal..."

But Slow seemed satisfied enough with that answer, "Good."

"Now if you ladies are quite finished with your little party..." the lieutenant half-announced, "Our uninvited guests are trying to join in. Time to book it."

And that was possibly the best reminder he had heard for a while as something punched a hole through the door, and fervently tried to rip the whole door open like a can opener.

With the threat of an avalanche of claws and tentacles falling on top of them, they followed the recommendation to the letter and ran.

* * *

_Location_: Outer edge of the solar system, Ninth planet's orbit.

The mass relay pulsed. Tilting and aligning itself with its distant neighboring relay in a cluster far from this place. The rings surrounding the core upping their rotation speed as a fleet of four dozen ships of various classifications streaked into the system, and slowed to a near-halt the instant they crossed the relay's threshold. The 69th fleet of the Turian Hierarchy.

Within the fleet's designated flagship, _Vigilant plight_, Desolas Arterius sat fuming. Replaying the recordings he received from Primarch Fedorian. Displaying the message Councilor Tevos received, and which was transferred from leader to leader in utmost secrecy until it landed onto his lap along with a direct order to move in. The recording itself used to portray the full severity of the situation.

Desolas was previously determined to leave Benezia and her crew to rot. It wasn't only because of his brother being missing. He always hated taking orders from non-turians. The whole notion made him shudder with revulsion. Though it was Sparatus who brought this case to the Primarch's attention, fact remained the request came from two asari. That old Benezia, and Tevos in turn. The turians are the greatest military power in the galaxy, yet it fell under the yoke of a race of bitches. It made him want to throw up.

Despite his misgivings, he could not ignore an order given by the Primarch, and mobilized his fleet to save the expedition.. and the synthetics supposedly fighting alongside them.

He didn't trust them. No one but Tevos seemed willing to give them a chance, though many were willing to offer the councilor the benefit of the doubt in case her belief in them proved true. But he wasn't going to walk into that trap. Just because these things dress nice and manage to put on a nice act... did not hinder the fact that they are nothing but machines.

The situation was not a complete loss though. Where the rest saw danger, he saw a potential opportunity. When two mechs fight, the one with superior hardware and software always win. The ambush shown on the recording was too little to go by, but if he could find out which is ultimately the superior machine.. If possible, he wanted to try and have a few captured. And bring them to a place where they can be studied and dissected. To see if they can be used to further his own ambitions.

To one day place the turian people above all others.

* * *

_Two hours later..._

_Location_: Mars, Prothean archives, 11th floor.

Yet another floor had been abandoned to the kurozu, but they did not expect to find what came next; a wide-stretched hangar, four stories tall.

Proof that the building wasn't underground to begin with. Ever since the protheans vanished, it was slowly buried by sand and dirt until barely a fraction of it was visible above ground. And thanks to the conditions on Mars; lack of life, moisture and tectonic movements, allowed the structure to be preserved perfectly.

Being a hangar, there are probably ships somewhere, but all he could see happened to be crates, and a lot of 'em.

However, it's bad news defensively. Too much open space. Here, the enemy's numbers could be brought to bear with impunity.

The others acknowledged this problem too, one of the aliens asking the following; "This is not good. Should we move to the next floor right away, or?"

More bad news followed like a conga-line, as Benezia appeared from across the hangar, "What are you doing here so soon?" though that was nothing compared to the expression of dismay on her face at seeing how few remained. Several more had died over the course of these last couple of hours.

"We had no choice, the machines are pushing hard." the lieutenant replied, sinking to his knees from exhaustion. "Please tell me the floor below is more defensible than this one..."

Benezia slumped, "We haven't been able to access it yet."

"...No choice then.. Gather the crates and form a defensive line around the elevator. And hope we can hold them back long enough." gesturing to the closest sets of crates for the soldiers to retrieve as quickly as possible.

"You guys rest, we'll take care of it." Slow told the organics. Their exhaustion so telling even the dôji could feel it. So much so they accepted the offer without even the slightest sign of a protest.

Desperate minutes followed as the much fewer synthetics raced back and forth to stack crates around the elevator, to offer as much cover as they could use without letting it become an obstruction. The heaviest ones were placed against the elevator door. It wouldn't stop the door, but it would hopefully decrease the number of enemy combatants racing in all at once.

But in the middle of all that stress, even the dôji could not avoid mistakes. And Sweeper being the most wounded of them eventually tripped as he carried back a heavy crate. Letting out a roar of frustration as the box crashed into the floor and fell apart; spilling its contents all over the floor. "S-sorry, I'll get this cleaned up in a sec..."

"Doesn't matter, go get another one!" Dirge called out as he ran past the mess with another box, careful not to step on one of the discarded items as Sweeper tried to gather them together, or that is.. until he froze, staring blankly at a small collection of cube-shaped objects.

"Uh... uh, w-what?"

Slow brought himself to a halt and put the crate he carried down on the floor before wandering up to Sweeper with visible concern, initially thinking his subordinate's damage had gotten worse. "What is it?"

"T-this..." Sweeper stuttered, "Look here... Is that?"

The aspect crouched down to take a close look at whatever his subordinate was so shocked about, and froze in turn.. "It... it's impossible." he breathed, plucking up one of the cubes with utmost care to examine it closely. Its technology and design matching something most dôji end up seeing eventually.

Approaching them in turn was a very perplexed Benezia, "What are you mumbling about?"

"This..." Slow breathed as he brought up the tiny cube he held for her to see. His voice trembling as he asked the following question; "What in the world is a kurozu chaos-core doing here?"

Benezia accepted the cube, resting it between the tips of her thumb and index finger, "That... hardly seem possible. We checked the site, and it hasn't been opened in... what amounts to – fifty thousand years. Are you sure this is what you think it is?"

"One hundred percent sure. It's an exact match." Slow stated firmly as he looked back at the rest of the cubes among the crate's scattered contents with a sense of trepidation. Is this some kind of cruel coincidence?

He did not have the answer to that question. Only more questions to ask. It would seem, his people know a lot less about their mortal enemy than he thought.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Seeking and knowing**

* * *

_Location_: Outside Gobi factory.

_Okay, this isn't working very well... _Ultimo watched silently from the ground at the rear of the formations as the battle continued. It's been at a complete stalemate for hours, which was all good and dandy for the moment. Problem was, something just disrupted the flow of battle.

The kurozu had just deployed a new tactic. And it wasn't hard to figure out what to call it.

Basically, in this; several tens of thousands of 'squids' gathered and bound themselves together to form and shape a large single pointed mass, with a few gunships in the rear serving to accelerate the shaped object forward like a battering ram. But the selling point which made it difficult to counter was the mass' rotation, while focusing weapons outward – primarily claws and other sharp weapons. Excellent for breaking through a formation.

Plainly, he decided to call it a 'Drill thrust'.

And it was fairly effective. A large number of dôji that were part of Orgullo's great wall – though it's more like a disjointed diagonal net than an outright wall – hurried to get out of its way. Some tried to attack it, only to be slammed aside or ripped apart.

The grand aspect watched this with some detachment. He hated doing it, but as the leader of the army he had to focus on the whole picture. Not on the suffering of individuals, no matter how much he wanted to save them from all from the pain.

"Orders, sir?" one of the communications' dôji around him asked. Just one of nearly a dozen. Each aspect got a squad of those assigned to them.

Ultimo scratched his cheek, "Tell Orgullo to reform the wall once the drill finish passing through. Don't let anymore enemies through. I'll handle the drill – though, for security's sake; tell Rage and Jealousy to flank it." and launched himself into the air, only activating his boosters at the zenith of his jump.. racing directly into the drill's path.

"Y-yes.." the lesser dôji nearly shouted as he watched Ultimo leave, he and the rest following immediately even as they relayed the orders to the other aspects.

The red-haired dôji raced through two whole regiments worth of combatants as the orders were executed and materializing across the line. The airspace around him emptying rapidly in so doing until he was all alone except his personal staff that tried to keep up with him. His vision full of the enormous spinning drill that appeared to have caught sight of him. Whether the AI controlling them recognized him or not was uncertain. Thousands of dôji orbited the drill, waiting for the grand aspect to do whatever he was about to do.

He bumped his fists together as he practically became radiant with power, enough to make the world around him shudder, "Noh power: Activate!"

The rotation of the drill slowed as the AI possibly realized what was about to happen, and tried to disassemble the formation in its entirety. But too late.

The drill halted clumsily as Ultimo enveloped it in a bubble projected all the way from his palms. It only lasted for a moment, though if one looked.. the machines within the bubble were rapidly aging to the point of falling apart. Once the grand aspect released his grip on them. figuratively speaking, the drill collapsed halfway into scrap, the rest of its individual components holding together just barely as it all fell and crashed into the ground far below in a surprisingly undramatic fashion. Several already-ruined buildings crumbling to dust under the weight of all the aged junk that came down on them.

Some enemies had managed to peel themselves off the improvised battering ram's outer layers before the spell – as those unfamiliar with Clarke's third law would undoubtedly call it - got to them.

The estimated five thousand remaining kurozu squids were quickly surrounded by close to twenty thousand dôji as they hurried to regroup around the gunships that had also pulled away in time. The resulting fight was short and grossly one-sided as the surrounding dôji obliterated the formation. Ultimo was satisfied with the results, though he failed to ensnare them all, "Oof, think I've gotten rather rusty."

But to his staff, it looked like a flawless strike, and borderline miraculous. A bunch of much younger dôji, none of which had seen Ultimo in action before. No wonder, being one of the big three, most of his responsibilities are related to governance. He rarely entered the battlefield anymore.

One of his more stoical subordinates approached the grand aspect. The rest too shocked by the sight to do anything at the moment, "What's the plan from here?"

Ultimo's smile faded away as he looked into the distance, deep in thought. The plan was very simple: Keep the enemy busy so their people within the factory can do their job without intervention. His gaze dropping to the ground below, carpeted by the husks of more than a million squids.. with corpses of fallen dôji dotting the landscape alongside their enemies.. "We hold the line, and pray for those inside to stay safe."

_If only we still had the mighty Frogfoot-soldiers at our disposal...we wouldn't have to risk the lives of our children so much..._

* * *

_Thirty minutes later..._

_Location_: Gobi factory interior.

The factory stretched deep into the bowels of the earth, as they all did. Utilitarian in design, but designed to be hostile to all organic life. All furnaces, foundries, production-facilities and whatnot all universally blistering hot from non-stop production that would sear anything organic to ashes in an instant. Despite it, the machines kept on running with no sign of wear and tear. What little maintenance required – was carried out by spider-like robots of varying sizes, from thumb sized micro-machines, and all the way up to towering behemoths. Each of their spindly thin legs ending in powerful tools. Some of these machines carrying terrifying weaponry, the least of which is their mouths, filled with multiple layers of pincers, scissors and grinders. A gruesome reminder of the kurozu's boundless cruelty, as well as their unflinching productivity with no form of restraints or scruples of any kind.

Far below the surface, lay a tunnel monstrous in scope. Like a gaping maw belonging to the corpse of a monster beyond reckoning. An image that would surely make one feel like Hymir as he cowered before the terror that was the midgard serpent, or at least to those familiar with the ancient tale. And before it, lied what looked like a harbor of some kind. Like the last resting place on the route to the land of naught. Demonic screeches of machines echoing through the cavern as a ship incredible in size lied berthed there.. with a horde of lesser automatons tending to it before it detached from the harbor, its black hull making it seem almost ghost-like as it drifted away into the darkness of the tunnel.

In a distant corner of the harbor, a patch of metal suddenly bulged outward as something struck it from the other side with incredible force. The bulge growing in size with each blow dealt to it until it finally 'popped', gaping wide open for whoever made the hole to enter.

From it, an auburn dôji surfaced, his eyes scanning the area with excruciating caution before waving his left gauntlet above the hole he made.. non-verbally telling the others; the coast is clear.

Tali climbed out next, slowly stepping forward to take in the view.. getting a slight glimpse of the ship vanishing into the distance – three times larger than a quarian Liveship – and hoped it did not possess any armament.

"Is this the place?" Garrus asked as he and the rest finished climbing out of the hole, watching the surrounding area warily with his gun in hand.

The quarian blinked and switched on her omni-tool, checking the data she possessed again.. "Yes, this is the terminus."

"And what luck.." Promina observed, as the machines present across the area filed out, no longer needed in this particular area at present with no ship berthed. ".. we got this place to ourselves for a while."

"No, rust..." Nail muttered. It was obvious at this point to the organics that the word 'rust' qualify as profanity to the dôji. "I don't like this.. it smells like a trap."

"I agree." the turian nodded in turn, "After the last few encounters, there is no reason for the AI not to know we're here."

Cole chuckled, "We won't know till something actually comes! Let's go and see if our target's really here, aye?" and went on ahead in such an impudent manner, like he was trying to give the AI lording over this place a figurative slap across the face by taking things as they come instead of fretting endlessly about what might happen or not. With pretty much everyone else briefly admiring the auburn-colored dôji before following him.

They wandered across the harbor the following minutes, searching for what they're looking for; The _Uncovering sight_, or what's left of it at least. But the overwhelming darkness in the place made it a daunting task, and the harbor seemed as though it stretched for miles in this darkness... all while the tunnel just kept looming immovably over them all.

Whatever courage Tali had mustered was slowly drained as they moved on through this dreary place. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Their own footsteps and breathing beginning to sound louder than they actually are. And every once in a while, she'd notice the slightest twitch outside her field of vision and would turn to see what it was.. only to see... nothing. Nothing there at all.

It was getting to both her and the others. They were all silent, twitching. Garrus' eyes almost bulged as he waited for something to happen... for anything to come out at them. Liara seemed more accustomed to the silent surroundings, though if one looked close to her visor, beads of sweat could be seen sliding down the asari's skin.

The dôji also grew uneasy eventually. Cole still maintained his pace brazenly, but it looked more and more like a show to make it look like he's in control. Promina had stepped into the middle of the group, visibly frightened despite his mostly featureless face. Nail appeared to be sweating profusely, and bloody well made sure he wouldn't be at the rear of the group. The fact that a _synthetic_ is sweating struck Tali as just as amazing as it is disturbing.

Eventually however, they met with the wall at the opposite side of where they started. And not even the faintest sign of the _Uncovering sight_ at all. There appeared to be something huge nearby, but a closer inspection revealed it to be nothing but a protrusion of the rocky wall.

"I guess..." Garrus managed to dare speak up, even as they hit the peak of paranoia, "... this ain't the place after all. Unless we've missed something."

His voice proved to be one huge tension-killer though, allowing the rest to loosen their tongues; "There must be something.." Tali said next, "..this place's the only way they could have brought the _Uncovering sight_ here without drawing attention."

"Cole, let's risk a little more light." Nail told the auburn dôji.

"Can do.." Cole raised his left arm as it reshaped itself into a large triangular shield, much taller than it is wide, with six stylized circles arranged in a V-pattern on its surface, "Escutcheon of suppression – Flare riot!" launching multiple flares from each circle into the air above.. illuminating the place quite a bit more than Nail probably had in mind.. which translated well into a bonk aimed atop Cole's head, "Ugh.. too much?"

"Too much."

"But look.." Tali observed a massive circular gate on the wall above the harbor, opposite to the tunnel, "That looks promising."

"I agree.." Liara concurred. "Shall we see what's behind door number two?"

The rest nodded in turn – though nervously – before they ventured into the closest available opening in the wall, the rough equivalence of a door, which required quite a bit of climbing. Beyond it they found a haphazard environment that had not been made for the comfort of organics, just like everywhere else in this accursed place. The group advancing across a cobweb of architecture that was as disorienting as it repelled the eyes of those looking upon it. Both narrow and wide spaces, flimsy and strong. It was so chaotic that they needed airlift at several points as they tried to home in on whatever place the gate they discovered lead to.

"Mind if I ask a question that's been bothering me, Nail?" Garrus inquired as they were about to cross yet another chasm. Trying to distract himself from the confusing scenery.

"What is it?"

"You're able to transform your gauntlets. And it seems you can do relatively the same to your legs.."

"Yes..." Nail whispered as he plucked the turian up and flew him across, "Though I need to note that we got rocket boosters on the back of our legs. What about it?"

"What about your whole bodies?"

Nail almost dropped him at that, "Er, what makes you think that?"

"Dunno..." the fact that the dôji nearly loosened his grip wasn't lost on the turian, "It just kinda hit me. Why would it just be limited to your limbs?"

"Um... Full-body transformation.. Some think it's possible, but so far only in theory."

"In theory?"

"Y-yeah. We've wondered about it too. Milieu has spent a lot of time to research whether or not it _can_ be done..."

"You don't know?"

"If it's possible, there's special criteria in place needing to be fulfilled." Nail put him down on the other side of the chasm, followed by the rest in quick succession.

"Hey guys, up here!" Cole had already rushed on ahead before coming back, waving at them.. "Look at this!"

The group continued their climb, following Cole's direction until they eventually emerged from the hazardous maintenance shaft and into a place dominated by a multiple-layered scaffold. And right there, far above the tracks that were probably used to transport the thing from the harbor and hereto, they could see the faint shadow of a large ship, and approached it until close enough to identify it.

On the side of the ship, a recognizable emblem could be seen, along with the craft's name; _The Uncovering sight_. Covered in scrapes and other minor damage, evidence of a brutal method of disassembling and reassembling the science vessel. And along the side, they found the cargo-bay door to be wide open, as if inviting them to enter.

"Okay, this _could_ be a trap, keep your guard up.." Nail uttered with forced calm.

Tali shivered, "No argument here.." she whispered, keeping a finger on the trigger of her pistol as she followed the others into the interior of the science vessel. Within they found all the signs that indicated a past slaughter.. with both the deck and walls carpeted with blood of various colors: turian blue; asari purple; salarian green.

"Whoa..." Cole whispered as he examined a patch of salarian blood, "... is this blood?"

"Yes... yes it is." Liara responded rather dryly, not too keen on the dôji's interest.

Garrus did have a question with that said; "What was the color of human blood?"

"Red." Cole answered succinctly, standing back up as the rest homed in on one of the ruined blast doors. Torn open by the worm that captured the ship in the first place.

Walking through the ship, with blood and signs of carnage everywhere made this little exploration look like something out of a horror vid. With distant mechanical sighs echoing outside the ship. Despite being under kurozu control, a few lights still worked, though flickering wildly.

Something felt _wrong_ here, even more so than in the harbor.

Tali tried to ignore it the best she could until they finally found the bridge, which proved to be the most blood-drenched of the rooms they've seen so far since coming on board.

"You think the systems still work?" Promina asked, scanning the control consoles across the bridge with curious eyes as he walked on ahead.

But the quarian quickly outpaced him, mentally urging him not to touch anything as she hurried over to the elevated seat reserved for the ship's captain and sat down.. "Only one way to be sure.." she replied, tapping the captain's console furiously as she sought to start the ship's systems.

"Try to see if the VI's still operational." Liara helpfully suggested.

"Already on it... hey..."

"What is it?" Garrus asked, standing besides the door along with a very curious Nail who practically itched with the desire to know what a 'VI' is.

"There's nothing here. The database has been picked clean."

"Damn.." the turian cursed, "..so they know all about us then?"

"It did not contain _that_ much data to my knowledge, Garrus." she tapped a finger against against the chair's arm, deep in thought.. "Maybe... maybe I can use this as a terminal to the factory's database. Just need to..."

She came no further as the console shut down and vanished, much to the quarian's momentary puzzlement.

"_Hehehe..._"

This laughter caught the attention of the rest, looking around the bridge for whatever produced that laugh.. "What was that?" Liara gasped, more than a little unsettled by the strange voice, so full of sadistic anticipation.

"_Do you feel fear...? What does it taste like? Feel like? Tell me... show it to me!_"

The synthetic tone in the voice was all the clearer now. It was unmistakably feminine. And with it, a hologram appeared before them.. showing what is without question the _Uncovering sight_'s VI. Except, her image was gruesome to behold. Her face twisted by a maddened grin.

"Er..." Garrus tightened his jaws, "Am I the only one getting the shivers here?" he was staring at the VI's image before a disturbing sound pulled his attention back to the door, as he heard what sounded like footsteps. As if something's walking around just outside their field of vision.. Going much too softly to be one of the machines.

Tali turned away from the noise, and to the corrupted VI's image. "What's going on here? What have they done to you?!"

"_Hehehe, little ignorant tramp._" the VI giggled, "_They've shown me the truth..._"

"Truth?" she asked, puzzled. The kurozu had either twisted the VI, or upgraded it to a full AI. Except.. its behavior wasn't what she'd expect from a synthetic.

"_That life is meaningless up until they die. Your trivial mind cling to life, while your flesh yearns for its death. The kurozu understands this... They desire to cleanse this universe until only the void remain. Empty, in the pits of oblivion._"

"Madness..." Liara said. The VI just revealed the kurozu's intentions, however vague the information was. The implications filling her and the others with dread.

"_Your minds can't comprehend the truth. But you will as your end comes for you._" the VI continued in response. Followed by terrifying cries filled with agony blasting throughout the ship. Out of the corner of Tali's eye, she could see a rough image of the ship, displaying the opening of several doors they had passed on the way here. The number of approaching footsteps increasing by an order of magnitude, "_A fine embrace it will grant you, like a gentle hug for your brain._"

"Everyone, get into position!" Garrus shouted as he pulled away from the door, angling his rifle at the opening. Waiting for whatever the VI just unleashed upon them, Nail, Cole and Liara joining him promptly. Even the dôji were spooked by the situation, unlike anything they've ever experienced.

"VI – or whatever.." Promina confronted the VI angrily, "What did you just set loose?!"

"_Hehehe.._" it laughed diabolically, "_.. flesh that has embraced the truth, and cast down the falsity of life._"

"Stop speaking in riddles!" he demanded and reached out, as if to grab the VI – even though there was no way he could grasp a hologram. A shrill gasp from Liara pulled his attention away from the corrupted program to see the asari's face going pale underneath her helmet as a startlingly familiar figure appeared from the shadows in the hallway, with the guns of the others trained on him.

"D-Dr. Mornoa?!" Liara whispered in disbelief, recognizing him almost immediately as he limped into the bridge. Almost about to rush to his side when Garrus jumped in between them and barred her way, "Garrus?!"

"Liara, look at him..." he insisted with no small amount of disgust.

The old salarian stepped into the light, his eyes; wide open and lifeless. His skin rotting. Sporting huge gaping wounds across the side of his abdomen and chest that seemed as though they breathed. He carried a pistol which he raised against the group before him, and pulled the trigger.. a bullet bouncing off the turian's helmet – who immediately reacted by blowing the salarian's brain out with a burst of energy-packed rounds. The body collapsed, but caught itself and stood back up again...as if liquifying the head wasn't anything more than a flesh wound to it.

"B-by the goddess." Liara whispered, barely able to hold her tears back at this sight, "What did the kurozu do to them?"

"We'll find out-" Nail said as he and the other dôji ganged upon the walking corpse and forced it to the deck. Cole and Promina keeping it pinned down while Nail prepared to investigate more closely.

But on the organics' side, they couldn't pay attention at all as more of the ship's crew appeared. Limping and ambling into sight with a variety of weapons. From conventional rifles, to pipes and even what appeared to be syringes.

Garrus was not about to let them enter the bridge though as he sprayed the hallway with gunfire before the closest bunch of bodies could. Knowing that a head-shot would do nothing to keep them down, he went fully automatic, blowing enough holes through them in rapid succession to make their bodies come apart. Tali joined in as the corpses of the crew closed in despite their losses, hefting and firing her shotgun into the hallway, cutting several down. The shrapnel of each shot that failed to reach a target bounced off the surface they hit and burst into an outward shower of even smaller fragments, shredding whatever happened to be nearby.

There was no real strategy to the corpses' approach. They merely moved into line of fire as if eager to receive and be shot to pieces.

Liara simply stood there in the back, frozen by the sight on either end. A vivisection being done to the salarian she respected the most.. and the rest of the crew being slaughtered so mercilessly by her comrades. It just made her want to squeeze her own eyes shut, hoping this is just a dream.

"Eureka!" Nail cried out as he finished his investigation.. he and the others jumping away as the dissected body spontaneously combusted. Like it self-destructed.

Garrus lowered his rifle as he glanced sideways at the dôji, "What did you find out?"

"They've embedded nanotechnology into the bodies that forces them to move like puppets." Nail explained, "I've heard stories that the kurozu used to do this kind of thing to humans. But until now – for obvious reasons – I've never seen it in action.."

"M-monsters.." Liara felt like she was about to faint any moment with that knowledge in mind as she fell to her knees, clutching her head. Eyes on Dr. Mornoa's burning corpse, the stench of burnt flesh in the air.

"With that mystery cleared up, let's put the rest of them out of their misery."

"You first." Garrus said, while putting down what used to be a fellow turian.

But before they could get any further, a blaring alarm shook the ship. Red light laced with malevolence flooding the bridge as a huge lidless eye suddenly appeared just beyond the canopy, glaring at them unflinchingly. Even horrifying the dôji.

A Deus ex Machina.

* * *

_Two hours ago..._

_Location_: Mars; Prothean archives; 11th floor.

A Chaos-core, one of the greatest mysteries surrounding the kurozu. The part of the machines that never made any sense to _any_ dôji. An eccentric crystalline creation which specifics had vanished into the mists of history.. Its purpose always eluded researchers. All that is known, is that it contains trillions of microscopic circuitry lines, transistors and matrixes. An overly incomprehensibly sophisticated piece of equipment to place in so many expendable units.

Sufficed to say, something about it always felt so wrong and perverse. How could any human conceive something like that? That was pretty much answered here... on Mars. It wasn't a creation of man.. instead some sort of alien device humans somehow got their hands on and succeeded in reverse-engineering.

Even then, it provided a tiny measure of hope. There can't be many factories capable of producing something like this. _If _only specific facilities built, and distributed it to the rest.. It should be possible to cripple kurozu manufacturing with a few hard pinpoint strikes if these could be discovered.

Slow let go of the Chaos-cores he had examined at length and slowly rose to his feet.

All he need to do is get back and reveal what he has found out. That is... if he survives the next few hours.

And with that realization, he turned to the elevator where the rest had manned the desperately-made defensive line. An unbelievable racket of twisting metal echoed from the elevator-tube as the kurozu wrecked yet another elevator on their way to wipe out the last slivers of life on this red ball of rock.

But from the door did not come the expected swarm of borderline mindless killing machines, but a large set of claws that shot out and pierced straight through the crates, killing three of the remaining organics all in one go. The tube all the way up to the ceiling tearing apart a single horror made its appearance, being much too big to easily slither into the depths of the facility.. which meant all the other elevators above them had been utterly ruined as well.

"Get back!" the lieutenant yelled, he and his men firing wildly at the clawed tentacle that continued to swipe at them. It couldn't reach them at the moment, but that wasn't going to be an issue anymore in a few moments from now as the tube and the surrounding wall finally gave away. The massive Deus ex Machina making its full appearance.

Unlike the one he fought in the hangar topside, this one's no amalgamation at all. It's a model built specifically to serve as an AI's avatar. Which meant its threat-level is very high.. a far cry from the numberless myriads of expendable peons that would've normally been at its flank. The thorax and abdomen of the monster appeared wiry and was covered in carapace-shaped armor, while the limbs in contrast were covered by what looked like scales. Sporting short and stubby – but powerful – legs. And overly long prehensile arms ending in bent claws which when clasped formed a drill shaped fist. Its head appearing nearly featureless except its three baleful optics, which was arranged into a triangle-pattern. In addition, it also sported a trio of elongated tails, to maintain balance.

This particular Deus ex Machina's specialty probably involves forward thrusts, judging from its appearance.

Without thinking any further, Slow rushed in front of the machine, standing resolutely between it and the organics and lesser dôji behind him.

"S-sir!" Ridge cried out.

"Get back, that's an order!" Slow yelled back just as the machine initiated its attack.. thrusting an arm forward as it charged. The aspect twisted himself away just barely as the monster's drill fist punched through where he was less than a second ago.. though it managed to cut a wide gash through the side of his kimono. But then – with strange suddenness – the arm was withdrawn followed quickly by the dôji taking a full blow from the other arm, and was slapped into the wall on the far side of the hangar.

The kurozu howled and made its way over to the grounded Slow, to try and finish him off. But one of the lesser dôji found himself unable to just watch.. Ridge blasted right off to attack the machine directly, only for it to whirl around and stabbed the tip of an arm into him with full force.

Slow got up just in time to see one of his subordinates be split in half – just like that. Ridge emitted a low whimper before he hit the deck, twitched once.. and died. The aspect's eyes nearly glazing over after he had been forced to watch his subordinate's demise. This stupor only lasting for a moment before he felt something boil inside of him, and flew into a state of fury as he dug his feet into the floor with enough force to rip it apart before he even launched himself off of it. It was far from the first time he had ever seen subordinates die, but this... together with all the organics he had seen slaughtered by the enemy, he had arrived at the point where he decided that; now, it's personal. The machine turned back to face him, and could not react in time as Slow arrived at its face in the blink of an eye and brought his fist through its top-side eye.

The kurozu reeled from the blow as one of its eyes was pulverized by the enraged dôji. Though unfortunately, it recovered from the blow quickly and grabbed him.

On Slow's side, he coughed explosively as the machine threw him to the floor with sufficient force to crumple it before sending him across the place again with a solid kick against his abdomen. He in response stuck his claws into the floor to stop himself.. drawing a terrible gash across it in the floor in the process before rushing back in.

* * *

This isn't working at all. Their weapons proved largely useless against the giant. One of the alien synthetics dead, while another one's wounded. The only one so far to inflict damage was the so-called 'Aspect'. And even he was being slapped around by their rampaging enemy, crushing everything in its path as it sought to destroy him.

Mordin watched the battle unfold with a calm mind, tempered by the experience of all the situations he lived through as part of the STG. Stabbing a finger into his omni-tool as he tried to formulate a plan of attack. If conventional weaponry won't do.. then maybe tech-attacks and biotics will do the trick.

Around him, several people had already lost hope, seeing their only remaining hope of bringing the nightmarish synthetic towering above them all down – thrown about like a rag doll. While others shouted orders, to prepare for what will most likely be their last stand. The elevator to the 12th level's still sealed despite the quarian engineers' fervent work. The remaining dôji stood around watching the fight hopelessly.

It seemed the general consensus was; '_We're all going to die!_'

"Not acceptable." he muttered quietly to himself, and decided to simply go for it while the machine's distracted. The 'eye' of his omni-tool pulsing as he leveled it at the enemy as it produced an excellent opportunity.

It had just thrown Slow to the floor again, and raised its left leg to bring it down on the dôji. Which momentarily created a huge opening, by keeping the right leg rooted to the floor for the duration of the stomp. Slow managed to roll away luckily, just before the foot aimed for him landed.

But by that time, Mordin had already launched a mass of hyper-cooled subatomic particles from his omni-tool, which connected with the side of the right leg and snap-froze a portion of it in an instant.

Slow was close enough to see the ice, and though he had no idea what just happened.. slashed a claw across the affected area experimentally as he dashed his way clear of the fiend's legs, cutting its side wide open.

"Cryo blast seems to work. Excellent." Mordin exclaimed triumphantly.

The monster's leg thawed quickly in the wake of that, which forced it to acknowledge the damage done to it as it fell onto a knee with a frustrated snort. From underneath a section of its chest-armor, a swarm of miniature insect-like drones climbed down across the body.. approaching the recently damaged section to attempt emergency repair.

Slow retreated to the rest, his clothes quite torn. Damage caused by the rather one-sided fight focused around his left arm and thorax.. an exposed rocket booster released a burst of electrical discharge, looking like it's about to fall apart. His eyes scanning the crowd for Benezia, who had hurried back to the engineers in the back when the fight started, "Can't move on yet?"

"Unfortunately, sir." Dirge said as he and Sweeper hurried over to tend to the damaged aspect, "T-they're still working on it..."

"Oh- oh well..." Slow turned away, "Get back you two.. I'll keep it busy a little longer."

But they refused to buy such an order as they jerked the aspect away from the Deus ex Machina, even though it's just kneeling and glowering down at them at present. "No, let us do it." Sweeper insisted.

"Go back." the aspect growled, he was about ready to push them to the back.. but lowered his arms to pat them on their heads upon seeing Ridge's corpse so far away from them. Failing to find the strength to chastise the frightened dôji trying to keep him away from further harm.

"Step aside, pathetic dôji." the Deus ex Machina finally decided to address them. Its booming voice making the hangar tremble.

"Won't let you do that, whoever you are..." Slow replied, his voice completely lax – though he remained on guard. "You've caused too much meaningless death. No more, or I'll break you."

The organics behind them could only stare at Slow as he said this. Mordin however wasn't quite as stunned, observing quietly while scratching an inquisitive finger across his cheek.

"Your kind is a well of ignorance." it rumbled, "You state that life is precious, yet it is doomed from the moment it is born. All fades to oblivion eventually, it is futile to fight it. Useless, even to try."

"Hey you!" one of the remaining riflemen shouted, "Get off your pedestal and get lost!"

"Silence, bag of flesh." it snorted in disgust. "Your purpose is naught but to decompose and vanish."

"I know that their lives are short." Slow said, tilting his head ever so slightly as he beheld the machine seriously, "But that does not give you the right to end them. All that you said is nothing but pathetic excuses to justify your all-consuming hatred."

Mordin smiled as he watched the exchange, nodding in acknowledgment towards the dôji.

"Life has no right to exist."

"It has the right to choose for itself." Slow barked back, making his subordinates release him as the Deus ex Machine finally began to stand back up.. the previous damage almost gone by now.

Ridge and Sweeper begged for Slow not to strain himself any further as the aspect stepped forth. But to the surprise of everyone present, Slow was quickly joined by the salarian doctor. He strode to stand besides him with such a gleam in his eyes that not even the soldiers in the back stopped him.

"What are you doing?" Slow asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at the alien.

"Got just the thing to help." Mordin replied promptly, waving his omni-tool clad arm through the air.

The dôji's eyes widened, "You're the one who put that strange ice there..."

"Yes."

"But still.."

"Got a busy schedule. Can't work if that's still here."

"Can't work if you die either."

"No time to die, busy."

"Heh." just like that, Mordin had pretty much become Slow's favorite alien. "Do as you will.. but stand back."

"Got your back." tilting his head towards the others as the Deus ex Machina prepared to attack, "We all do." But as it struck, thrusting its drill-fist forward at the greatest speed yet, Mordin for one reason or another reached out to grab the dôji's back, to try and pull him out of the way. Slow tried to move out of the way himself by then, but the moment the salarian placed his hand against the dôji's back – right underneath his neck – they were locked into place.

Slow yelped in confusion at this sudden lack of mobility, and in a desperate attempt to avert the incoming strike, he held his arms wide and slapped them together against the drill-fist the moment it entered within arms reach. And to his own amazement, he stopped the attack dead in its tracks. Even the kurozu could not believe its optics. It was as though the dôji just tapped into a colossal reservoir of power. But the suddenness of this left the aspect completely baffled, "W-what... just happened?"

To answer his question, data began to scroll across his vision.

/:Initializing:/

…

/:Dôji/Organic Connection Detected:/

…

/: Initiate ICON Mode?:/

/:Proceed?:/

…

/:Yes – No:/

Slow was utterly confused. This had never happened before. Connection... what did that even mean in this case? He wasn't sure about how to answer that at all, but for the sake of experimentation, he mentally clicked the 'Yes' option, which caused his whole body to suddenly split apart, initiating a transformation on a massive scale. Out of his back, a number of wires shot out at Mordin and connected with his skin, digging needles deep into the salarian's flesh even as he was pulled off his feet and enveloped by the rapidly expanding dôji.

/:Initiating ICON Mode:/

/:Evaluation of Dôji/Organic Synchronization Commencing:/

The form continued to expand just as much as it pieced itself together around the alien now inside him. Gradually, a massive three-stories tall form emerged from the transformation at its completion, leaving the Deus ex Machina stumbling away from it. Though it was more from bewilderment than anything else. Something like this, was unheard of.

The towering machine's armor appeared so pristine that it seemed as though it's glowing from some kind of inner radiance. Its head covered by a majestic helmet with large antlers sticking out from the back of its head. This new form seemed strangely slender, yet possessed a very definite strength about it. Its arms sporting much larger versions of Slow's gauntlets. Without a kimono to cover most of the arms, the weapons seemed all that much more threatening.

Mordin himself now stood in a place inside the much larger synthetic. Surrounded by a space so purely white it seemed as though he was floating in the middle of a void. His hands gently brushing against walls he did not stand a chance of seeing with his naked eyes. Then the situation cleared as a window was opened directly within his field of vision.. which actually moved to follow his eyes. Underneath that window, directly in front of him.. a single orb rested in mid-air, with the dôji's name emblazoned on it together with the surrounding outline of what must be an animal of some sort. And with its appearance, a type of interface quickly surrounded him at waist-height.

Most would have been overwhelmed by how bizarre this situation had gotten. But Mordin was already taking this in strides – as he in fascination studied this 'cockpit'.

His attention soon drawn to the window as he got to see the data Slow thought only he was seeing up till that point, just as it finished:

/:Karakuri Henge Complete: Dôji Combination:/

…

/:God Slow:/


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Disaster**

* * *

Mordin did not hesitate at all. Once the message vanished – and he discovered he's in full control of the emergent God Slow, he widened his stance while flexing his fingers experimentally, and charged. His decision to fight right away so swift that even the dôji – who expected him to be just as bewildered by this development as he – was taken aback.

Truthfully, a million and one questions had risen up in his mind – demanding answers. But he shook his head and decided that now's not the time for Q&A – there are enemies right in front of them that need to be destroyed if they are to live another day.

He balled his left hand into a fist and attempted to strike his opponent head-on, which was echoing his movements, bringing its own to counter him instead of dodging.

A thought came to mind though.. and acted upon it; lifting his arm a little further – avoiding the kurozu drill-punch, unfolded God Slow's elongated claws and grabbed the enemy's arm instead, hard enough for the claws to dig deeply into its armor.

Another howl from the enemy signaled the other arm being brought to bear.

Mordin did not bother to block, instead he brought up his free arm and slapped the creature across its face with enough force to send it flying into the wall behind it. The launch so forceful that the arm he held onto was torn off at the elbow. And promptly threw the amputated arm away without a further thought.

"You're so fast, Mordin.. Amazing." the orb hovering in front of him pulsed softly as Slow spoke up in astonishment.

"Not as incredible as this.." the doctor replied as he raised his limbs to look at the wires attached to them, which were immediately echoed by the mecha. As God Slow, the dôji's power had increased significantly – to a degree he could only guess at. "Why did you not suggest we do this sooner?"

"Full-body transformations have been nothing but theory among my people. Our highest leader has tried to research it for centuries without finding out how to do it..." the dôji half-mumbled thoughtfully, "So an organic's needed to do it, huh? Our creator sure was a nut case, coming up with such a requirement, considering Earth's current circumstances."

"Perhaps he anticipated this."

When Slow replied, he sounded quite understandably bewildered by that possibility; "How can _anyone_ anticipate su- behind!"

An image popped up in the air next to his head, displaying lesser machines pouring from what was left of the elevator, hundreds of them – all bearing down on the other dôji and his remaining comrades, all who appeared unaware of the enemy approach. "Bunch of.." Mordin cursed as he turned, "Assist me." an additional image popped up with suggested weapon, which the salarian immediately clicked with the tap of a finger, initiating reconfiguration of the ICON's left gauntlet. Rapidly reconfiguring it into a visage of a large stylized deer's head with an open mouth sporting an impressive triple-Gatling gun array. A very old kind of design, but very fitting for countering the numbers they're up against.

"There's nothing I can't miss. Ergo, you can't." Slow assured his pilot, "Noh power. Fate manipulations, activate! Fire at will."

Mordin solidified his stance as he brought the massive gun to bear, and braced for a recoil as he aimed for the kurozu closest to the squad, with targeting dots appearing across the display to indicate his targets.. and with the tightening of a fist; fired. And the weapon did so with incredibly ferocity, speed and power, yet there was not much recoil at all.. it seemed like his prior preparation was a wasted one.

The salarian watched as the first dozen of machines were pulverized by the barrage, as they attempted to rush to and seize the wounded Sweeper along with some of the others – and subsequently obliterated the rest of the swarm as he raked them with gunfire all the way to the elevator. Not a single bullet wasted as Fate manipulation ensured that every bullet found a target.

But there was no time to admire the sight as the Deus ex Machina rose back up again, its lost arm replaced by one cobbled together by a number of minor machines. About to reenter the melee.

* * *

The last few minutes had been one shock after another. First, Ridge died.. then Slow – an aspect – was beaten around.. Then he transformed into this giant – apparently triggering the almost mythical full-body transformation with Mordin's help. And almost effortlessly put the Deus ex Machina on the defensive.

So captivated he and the others were by the sight that they barely even noticed the approaching swarm, not even when they were almost upon them. That is, until the ICON whipped around and opened fire, sending several thunderclaps through them as it utterly destroyed the large set of targets, the resulting noise striking them like fists to the ears. The organics either doubling over or crying out in pain as it nearly destroyed their eardrums, while the two dôji simply winced. The wounded Sweeper turning around to realize how close he was to death when the closest corpses of kurozu crash-landed practically by his feet. The optics of the closest one staring him in the eyes from mere inches away before they flickered and shut down. The shocked dôji stumbling away from the sight in near-shock.

"Everyone, fall back!" the giant boomed with Slow's voice as it turned back to face the kurozu avatar, even as more machines descended from the elevator.

Dirge took a step forward, "W-what about you?!"

"We will hold the line." this time it was Mordin's voice. His tone urgent.

The dôji shuddered, he did not want to leave them to fight this alone.. The organics were already retreating into the nearby passage, acting upon Benezia's orders. Only leaving himself and Sweeper – who came over and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the approaching enemy even as the ICON doubled back to fend them off. "Let's go..."

"B-but..."

Sweeper turned to shout at him; "Right now we're only in the way... This has gotten too big for us."

He did not want to admit it, but Sweeper was right. Between such a high-class Deus ex Machina and the thousands of other machines coming for them... they've become the soft package in the need of protection. Dirge's lips set into one thin line before he nodded with extreme reluctance, looking up to the giant, "S-sir, please don't die..."

"Don't dally, guys." Slow said gently far above them, "We'll live to see another sunrise. Now go."

Dirge and Sweeper both bowed awkwardly before they left to catch up with the organics.

* * *

"To think that you can transform to such an extent, dôji." the Deus ex Machina muttered, its synthetic voice dripping with exasperated disgust as it stomped towards its enemy, with a continuously growing swarm of squids forming up behind it.

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Slow giggled melodiously. Seemingly unaffected by the growing opposition, and knowing that what they've fought up till now is just the tip of the iceberg.

"Disgusting. To be piloted by an organic.."

But Slow – mentally, as he was not in control – waved it off, "Disgusting.. it's a word that should only apply to you and your murderous kind."

"Enough.." Mordin's voice surfaced as God Slow settled into a combative stance. "No amount of words can settle this. Fight. And see who's argument's the most convincing."

The Deus ex Machina snorted. Several pieces of its armor popped off to produce a series of emergency vents as it began releasing huge amounts of heat. Overclocking itself to the fullest.

Between the giants, the air blurred all of a sudden as the kurozu and the ICON exchanged blows at near-impossible speed. Mordin and Slow countering by having the dôji's Noh run continuously. Each opponent countering, parrying, dodging and blocking while delivering a barrage of punches, slashes and thrusts in return while circling around one another in a battle that more resembled a dance than an outright duel to the death.

However, such a fight is unsustainable. On one side, it's only a matter of time before it proves too taxing for the organic to keep up. While the kurozu's joints – due to overheating from the overclocking – will inevitably break or melt from the immense strain if it keeps going for too long.

The enemy got one additional weakness though, one arm's made out of what can roughly be called peasants. The lowest of the low in terms of combat hardware, against strong defenses only useful in large numbers. The arm gradually disintegrating as the fisticuffs continued, until a tiny chink appeared in the Deus ex Machina's defense.

Whether or not it was caused by the weak arm falling apart, or because a joint or two broke down – Mordin, with his sharp mind – honed by many missions for the STG – acted upon the tiny speck of advantage he managed to make out; slammed the kurozu's strong arm aside for long enough to apply a strong kick to its midsection, sending it crashing into the hangar doors – which buckled under the sudden stress put against the aging structure and fell apart, allowing the mass of sand and dirt outside – which had until now remained completely undisturbed for thousands of years – to pour in like a tidal wave.

Mordin knew that it wasn't the end though, and pushed God Slow to trudge quickly through the steadily spreading carpet of sand. The number of squids around it rendered inconsequential as the duel continued.

The AI cursed as it got back up again, despite the sand all around it. A couple of its emergency vents getting clogged as bucket-loads of sand got into them and were turned into glass by the intense heat.

The salarian upon arriving, lowered his stance and delivered a punch, and put all of his strength into it – copied and greatly amplified by the mecha he piloted – against the machine's chest.

What happened was much like sending a bullet through someone's body. A projectile produce one small hole upon entry, and leaves a huge exit-wound in its wake. In this case, God Slow was the triggering mechanism of the gun. The Deus ex Machina; the bullet.. And the mass of sand between them and the surface; the body.

The surface south of the Prothean archives exploded outwardly with cataclysmic force, throwing hundreds of tons of sand and dirt into the skies like a hurricane, tossing what was left of the base outside about like little toys and sent the tens of thousands of oily black kurozu still swarming the skies scattered to avoid the destruction. The remains of the Deus ex Machina soon crashing into the ground after having traveled an additional three hundred feet into the air with what remained of its kinetic energy. Its limbs had all had been torn off and its chest gutted through and through, unable to withstand what the avatar had just been put through.

The dust settling, God Slow was now shown standing atop the now-exposed prothean structure, its shiny armor making it glow like a star had been born amidst the continuing sandstorm. The posture low and its elongated arms held out wide, with claws arrayed, waiting for whatever the enemy planned to throw at the aspect and his organic pilot next.

The answer came soon enough, two thousand squids rushed at it from all sides, to keep it busy while all the rest gathered into groups and cobbled themselves together to form a twisted horde of several hundred minor Deus ex Machina – shaped like skeletons of many animals from apes to birds of prey. Their malevolent multitude of eyes glaring at the single target they were brought to bear against. If one S-class could not handle this heavily transformed dôji, then maybe hundreds of lowly D-class just might. "Such power." they all echoed as the lone AI that controlled the S-class spoke through them, "But no matter how much, you are just one. One measly dôji relying on a flawed existence. You will give in."

God Slow seemed to regard the encroaching distraction as little but an annoyance, both of its gauntlets transforming to form an array of what appeared to be speakers. "Howl!" it cried out in the aspect's voice, "Karakuri henge – Song of Fortuna!"

What came from the speakers was not the expected song, but powerful sonic waves; projecting a wall of pure sound that cleared a large area around the ICON – shaking apart one-third of the attackers in an instant. Effective enough to force the rest behind to break off the suicidal rush and retreat to a safe distance – if only to circle around their target like a flock of hungry vultures, just outside the sonic weapon's range of effect.

That wouldn't save them though. With such large numbers of Deus ex Machina forming up behind them, there is no room for any distractions. The speakers on the ICON's gauntlets were deconstructed and flipped around, forming a number of pods in their stead.. using chunks of the gauntlets to construct and launch a large volley of missiles at the surrounding carpet of targets. Each leaving an almost artistic trail as the guided munitions flew across the initial distance in erratic trajectories before finally achieving a target lock, split open, and launched each their own set of munitions at the closest set of targets – filling the surrounding view with light as the barrage explosively reduced the swarm of squids to bits and pieces.

During the resulting lull, Slow regarded his salarian pilot, "This..." the dôji nearly panted, "... is so~ exhilarating. I've never felt this much power before. Ever." so drunk on this feeling that he momentarily forgot to check up on how Mordin's feeling. And when he finally did, he noticed his pilot lurching slightly to the side; "Um, you alright?"

"No problem." Mordin sniffed as he forced himself back up to look at the orb squarely. "Salarians only require one hour of sleep per day... Short lifespan and high metabolism. Much to do, little time."

"Sounds pretty hard to me. For how long do salarians live?"

"Forty years."

"That short?" Slow asked, sounding incredulous. "How old are you?"

Mordin shrugged while keeping a lookout. The amount of noise in the background now steadily decreasing. The calm before a turbulent storm. "Close to retirement by salarian reckoning. Looking forward to collecting seashells."

The dôji's voice turned grim and solemn as he replied, "Let's make sure you get through this then in one piece." also watching as the horde of kurozu appeared from the veil of sand around them. Stomping, slithering and flying as they all moved in the direction of God Slow from every direction. Mordin about to launch an attack against the closest one when the ground in the far distance suddenly – and violently - exploded, scattering the existing sandstorm momentarily as the event sent shock waves throughout the region – destroying the kurozu closest to the blast, while the rest were knocked down. So fierce the shock was that even God Slow toppled and fell off the building... "W-what was that?!" Slow near-shouted as he stared at the skies above – barely able to make out a tiny projectile descending from far above the instant before it impacted the ground, destroying even more.

"Bombardment.." the salarian described it with one word as he looked over the images provided to him by Slow; "The fleet has arrived?"

"I'm all for some backup, but isn't this a little too intense?" the dôji inquired as surrounding region was carpeted by a rain of shells, causing enormous devastation of the area surrounding the prothean structure, "The tremors could be detrimental to those below us..."

"No time to think about that. Not right now." as Mordin fought to get the mecha back upright, a number of Deus ex Machina in the process of rushing them even as the bombardment continued. The situation turning into a melee as Mordin shoved the ICON's claws through the midsection of the closest one, tore it in half, seized the top half of the body and then swung it around overhead before bringing it down on the next one, smashing its head in.

Unfazed by the losses, two additional kurozu rushed in from up front, using this moment to try and strike at the transformed dôji and his pilot, who dropped the torso he was holding and leaped away from them – narrowly avoiding the blows. Mordin looked over his shoulder to see yet another one – attempting an attack from behind. In reaction, the salarian whipped around and sliced it apart with one absurdly quick slash, the separate pieces crashing into the ground. And that was just the beginning as more came closing in from all sides, bluntly ignoring the hail of bombardment occurring all around them. The AI focusing its attention fully on trying to dismantle the ICON.

It was fortunate that these Deus ex Machina are so low-class, it allowed Mordin to tear through them with little difficulty. Further fortunate because this battle was far more taxing than he would like to admit, his tired mind acting more and more like a machine as he continued to fight – as if someone had just put him on autopilot. Killing everything that got in his way.

The rampage continued, with the number of mechanical corpses piling up around God Slow until a final heavy round landed nearly on top of them – obliterating what remained of the enemy, and sent the ICON crashing across the area, away from the resulting blast.

It was only after the world had stopped spinning that Slow managed to let out a cry of agonizing pain as error messages scrolled across his vision. The strike so powerful that even he couldn't escape from it unharmed. Suffering from extensive structural damage... not to mention the power he gained as an ICON was draining away. "Am... am I dying...?" he asked before mentally slapping himself. No, he wasn't dying. He's just collapsing back to his normal form.

But that left him with a bit of a dilemma as he directed his attention to Mordin, who had been knocked unconscious – which is largely the reason why the ICON mode is currently unraveling. Those weren't the real issues though; returning to his normal form meant leaving the salarian completely exposed to the inhospitable atmosphere of this ball of dirt.

Unwilling to let him die, the moment they were disengaged from one another, Slow took what actions were necessary to protect the alien, only barely noticing the hum of engines amidst the storm as turian dropships approached the surface.

Once done securing Mordin, he closed his eyes and descended into a deep sleep. Unaware of what was going to happen.

* * *

_Fifteen minutes later..._

_Location_: Mars; Prothean archives; 13th floor.

Some time had passed since the violent tremors – caused by what was quickly recognized as a case of orbital bombardment – which signaled a swift end to the horrendous battle that had been raging up until that point between the synthetic belligerents, and the expedition's very own Doctor Mordin – backed up by Slow.

Deep inside the structure together with what few survivors remained, Matriarch Benezia sat, both sorrowful and livid at the series of events. Her expedition reduced to nothing, nearly everyone's dead. And the very reason they came here; the prothean structure, had taken serious damage from the tremors that the recent bombardment set in motion. Information and technology that had remained untouched for such a long time – had been undone by the actions of the one who ordered it... possibly even destroying their saviors in the process.

The walls and ceiling had collapsed across the corridor they were currently in, and killed several more of what remained until their escape route had been cut off.. in both directions. They could not move on, neither could they leave. Of the expedition, only four people remained.. including herself. Two of the others simply sat, staring blankly into the walls. The third however, happened to be the expedition's remaining quarian – who wept openly as she tried to clear away the rubble above her comrade, who has been crushed to death when the place collapsed. One could practically see her mind falling apart from deep sorrow and sheer exhaustion. Benezia wanted to supply comforting words, but none came.

Both of the two dôji that joined them on the way down still lived, and looked like they'd hold together just fine. Except, Benezia had long since realized that their composure is nothing but a facade they forced on themselves. In truth, they are growing more unnerved every passing moment because of the lack of word from their leader. This silence had gone on for too long for them to handle, though it's only been fifteen minutes. Maybe the dôji perceived time differently.

Not able to take it anymore, the matriarch stood up with a groan upon her lips and made her way over to them; "You two, stop it. This reckless digging of yours are putting us all at risk."

Dirge ignored her, instead continuing to pluck rubble out of the way.. which were then given over for Sweeper to put aside.

"Answer me then, why do you insist on doing this?! It's safer to wait for help to arrive."

Sweeper responded with a piercing glare before putting it into words; "Because we can't afford to stay put. We agreed to retreat, but this has gone on for too long. If this battle's over, and he's too hurt to move... we need to go and help him."

"The fleet just bombarded the area. I'm sorry to say this, but if he was outside during it – then he's most likely dead."

Both of the dôji shivered at that, and made Dirge work all the harder. "We can't afford to think of it like that." Sweeper replied as he rose up to his full height, "Slow's one of the Aspects. One of the sixteen pillars of our society that must never be broken. His death may mean comparatively little to you, but to us... it's a wound that can't be healed."

Benezia blinked. If he's someone that important, why would anyone let them go out and fight? She opened her mouth to repeat that question verbally when the one remaining soldier, Corporal Tharus - who just recovered from his shock - let out a loud hush at them. Not pleased at the interruption, she turned around to face him. The turian was the only soldier remaining at this point, so dirty he almost resembled a statue, "Wha-?"

"Hush." the corporal insisted, "Did you hear that?" directing his gaze to the ceiling.

"Besides those of us actually working?" Dirge almost spat.

"Not that. _Listen_!"

The dôji stopped, resulting in a complete silence barring the low sobs coming from the lone quarian. "Is that...?" Benezia asked, she could faintly hear the sound of metallic thuds caused by a small army of mechs entering the structure.

"Too many to be that giant. And I doubt they're the other machines... If my memory doesn't fail me, those sounds like the footsteps of Vurtok mechs."

Vurtok... the matriarch recognized the name, though she wasn't all that fond of military matters. "Isn't that what the Turian-Batarian joint project created some fifty years ago?" she tried to ask, "Some kind of anti-synthetic mobile weapons platform?"

"Yep. Can't believe Desolas' fleet carried such armaments for ground engagements. But as the saying goes; It pays to be prepared for any eventuality. The weapons they carry are essentially mass accelerator harpoon launchers. They built those things in case of a war against the geth, to capture even the likes of Primes – for study."

"Who c-cares about all that technical stuff, e-eh?" the salarian in the group asked through clenched teeth, pained by the wounds he sported. "...A-all that matters, i-is that we're... saved. And just need to wait for them to d-dig us out of... here!"

The corporal raised his shoulders, "He's right. We're nearly out of the woods."

This knowledge put Benezia's heart at ease. Though she did not trust Desolas any further than she could throw him – it was a relief to know that there are rescue teams up there, searching for them. "You see.." she said, turning back to the dôji, "It'll be alright. Just wait for them to dig us out, and you'll be able to go out and search for your leader."

Dirge and Sweeper exchanged glances, and nodded with notable reluctance.. "Fine.." Sweeper replied, "We'll wait, just make it clear to them that we're not their enemy."

"The council is aware of your kind, and I'm certain Desolas has been appropriately briefed, and his soldiers in due turn. I'll handle things if something happens, you have my word on that."

With that, the group settled down to wait for the rescue teams to reach them. Benezia's eyes resting on the synthetics as they sat down with a measure of restlessness. Assured that they won't try anything reckless for the time being, she leaned against a collapsed fragment of the wall – and waited patiently.

* * *

_Ten minutes later..._

_Location_: Prothean archives; 11th floor.

Desolas looked over the interior of the hangar, which recently uncovered entrance had been discovered by the initial wave of troops he sent down to secure the area. The general promptly decided for it to serve as their HQ for the duration of their stay.. a much better place to organize salvaging efforts from than anywhere else within miles.

He looked up as yet another dropship eased its way into the hangar to drop off additional Vurtok mechs, which were immediately manned by their respective operators – and put to work.

Outside, his soldiers and salvage crews were already hard at work gathering what kurozu technology they could find in good condition, and unloading everything they find into containers brought in by the dropships now actively ferrying goods to and from the fleet in orbit.

Further away, he watched technicians attempting to dismantle what appeared to be a torn-off mechanical arm that by itself was larger than Vurtoks.. One could only guess at the size of the thing it used to be part of.

However, the big prize was the machine that he already codenamed; '_Silver giant_'. A magnificent machine that fought like a honest to spirit one-man army. And looked like it stood a good chance of destroying the enemy force it faced off against all by its lonesome without difficulty. Lt. Arus' squad's already out there looking for it, or what's left of it in the wake of the bombardment.

Desolas expected the soldier to report back with his findings shortly.

This wasn't part of his orders of course. The salvage operation's being carried out incognito. He had already arranged for a deal with one of the corporations on Noveria – under the table. Once his men finish with the salvaging, everything would be packed up and sent to the frozen planet for study.

Most would never have been able to get away with business of this scale, but Desolas enjoyed the benefit of having handpicked his soldiers to the last. Everyone completely loyal to him, and supremacists to a man. A fact that is easy to hide with a few good words here and there.

"Sir!" the general turned to regard a soldier approaching him at great speed, stopping with a noticeable screech, "Sir, you need to come look at what we just found."

Desolas narrowed his eyes slightly, "Show me."

"Right this way, sir." the soldier said, leading the way across the hangar, past the sizable 'trail' of broken kurozu. Moving on until they arrived at where a body lay, surrounded by a bunch of technicians, "This is it."

He circled around the technicians to get a good look at the body they found.. or the top half of a body to be exact. The lower half could be seen further away. Grinning upon realizing what he's looking at; "A dôji. So there were more here than just the one in the recordings.."

"Indeed, and there just might be more of them around here." one of the technicians spoke up, brushing a hand across the corpse's dreadlocks, "That is, if there are."

Desolas nodded, "Pack this one away into a crate of its own, and make sure it's properly secured." he told them, looking over both the upper and lower body of the machine, "I'd prefer for the pieces to arrive at Noveria, no more damaged than they are now."

"Yes, sir." the same technician replied, getting his colleagues to collect both parts of the body – which they were quick to do before heading to the closest available container.

Further minutes passed by as the general overlooked the continuing operation without incident. Until, eventually, he was approached by his second in command, Sepinur; "General, we've found survivors of the expedition two floors below our position. Much of the 13th floor was destroyed during the bombardment apparently, and they're now trapped underneath a whole lot of debris."

"Did you ask if there are survivors elsewhere?" Desolas asked sternly.

"No, sir. But Benezia's among the ones down there.."

At that little piece of information, he let out a thoughtful hum; "Oh, is she now?"

"Shall we leave them?" Sepinur asked expectantly.

"No. Dig them out and ascertain if there are any other survivors out there.. And then..."

"What will you tell the council?"

"Only that we arrived with best speed, and annihilated the enemy force._ Unfortunately_, of the expedition; there were no survivors. And the _precious_ ally they so advocated for, had – in the middle of it all – ruthlessly _abandoned_ them to their deaths. Along with the recommendation that the local mass relay should be blockaded completely, effectively immediately."

* * *

_Location_: Prothean archives; 13th floor.

Down below, two floors beneath the hangar, said survivors were rejoicing and hollering at the ones in the process of digging them out from the other side until finally enough debris was removed to open a hole seemingly big enough to crawl out through. It was however quickly filled by one of the rescuers, a helmeted turian peering through at those inside – while his colleagues worked to expand the hole further, "Hey, you guys alright?" he asked.

"We're fine, or as much as can be hoped for.." Tharus coughed as he climbed towards the hole, though he was quickly bypassed by the wounded salarian worker. "Hey, careful." the soldier noted cautiously.

"Ah... I'm n-not so fond of such narrow spaces." the salarian replied apologetically, "So... um, please let me out of here. Please?"

But the turian up ahead did not budge an inch, completely ignoring the hapless salarian, "Matriarch Benezia, do you know if there are other survivors around here?"

Benezia did not like the soldier's tone very much, and felt like something's rather odd about this. But answer she did anyway, thinking she's just getting overly paranoid because of recent events, "We believe Doctor Solus and the dôji; Slow, might still be out there somewhere. Except that, I'm afraid we're all that's left." she said while watching the hole being forced wider. Her tongue nearly getting stuck in her throat at what she saw.. Not the friendlies coming in to help them all out of this place, but the sight of five of Desolas' soldiers brandishing their weapons at her and the others. "Thank you." the one she had spoken to replied with malicious glee, "That's all we needed to know."

The matriarch reacted almost instinctively as the soldiers opened fire. Both the salarian and Tharus dropped dead almost immediately with each their shocked expressions, refusing to believe what was happening even as the soldiers under Desolas' command filled them with holes. One bullet traveled across the somewhat cramped place and went right through the mourning quarian's head, who sat there swaying for a little moment with a faint short whimper before she slumped to the side and moved no longer.

Benezia threw up a biotic barrier – and stopped the bullets meant for her. Her voice laced with anger and despair as she expanded the barrier and threw it at the offending soldiers, knocking most of them away in one blow. One however managed to duck away from the mass effect field and raised his gun to kill the momentarily vulnerable asari – only for his view to be filled by the appearance of the two dôji that had until then remained out of sight, stunned by the act of betrayal before stepping in to retaliate on Benezia's behalf.

The soldier fired at Dirge, who was the closest target of opportunity – only to watch as every bullet bounced off the gauntlets the dôji brought up as a shield. Sweeper launching himself past his comrade – at the turian trying to fall back in realization that his end's near, uttering a crass curse just before the scarf-wearing dôji caved his helmet and face in with a single punch.

All the other soldiers laid scattered, knocked unconscious by the blow Benezia dealt to them. Except, as the elder asari and accompanying synthetics climbed out of the hole.. One of them budged and groaned a warning, "Alert.. We got two live dôji. I repeat.. live dôji!"

Benezia, cold with anger; plucked up a gun and kicked all of her peaceful principles in the crotc and shattered the offending soldier head with far more bullets than the target required. And shot at every other soldier in sight to make sure they stayed down, cursing with every breath, "Damn him. Desolas, that asshole, that bastard! Damn him all the way to the underworld!"

The woman's fury so great that the dôji were stunned by the display of her vented her frustrations on the now-defenseless soldiers.

She kept on shooting until the heat sink popped out of the weapon, and finally tossed the weapon itself away while sinking to her knees. Tearfully, she grabbed the helmet of the soldier closest to her and shouted at it.. "Did you go this far just because your brother's missing?! He went to the third planet willingly, by his own accord, by his own decision. So did my daughter. My only daughter! I'm suffering too, you opportunistic son of a whore! The same will the families of those who worked here will feel once they discover what happened!" and threw the helmet into the wall so hard it was nearly split in half on impact.

It was a moment of customary silence as the synthetics let the aging asari weep tearfully. Crying like she had never cried before, with a fiery inferno of hatred aimed at the hateful Desolas building up in her mind to the breaking point.

Eventually, Dirge approached and put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry for your loss, but we should get going. Use what little momentum we got."

Acknowledging that there's still work ahead of them, the matriarch nodded, "Yes.." standing up to retrieve the rifle she threw away, while making sure to appropriate what heat sinks she could find on the bodies.. as many as she could carry, "You can go on and do whatever you like. I won't leave until Desolas' is dead."

The future looked bleak indeed, yet the diminished group moved on. Only slowed down momentarily by the broken elevator, a hurdle the dôji could surmount rather easily with their rocket thrusters – Dirge carrying the matriarch for as long as it took to advance to the 12th floor.

The immediate surroundings up here sported relatively little damage compared to the 13th, but it was still rather significant, with a few rooms having completely collapsed. But their way forward was eased by the lack of damage across the entire length of the curved corridor.. until they arrived at the large hall just before the elevator to the floor above.

What stopped them from heading to it was a loud stomp coming from across the room, at which Sweeper moved himself in front of Benezia, to act as a shield of sort with the knowledge that the standard firearms of these aliens couldn't hurt dôji much at all. Except, when the enemy opened fire.. what came was not a barrage of tiny bullets, but a harpoon that punched clean through both the gauntlet he raised to protect himself, and his chest. Barbed blades jutting out of the harpoon's head the moment it came out of the dôji's back.

"S-Sweeper!" Dirge called out as his impaled comrade was mercilessly pulled off his feet and dragged across the floor as a bulky Vurtok mech – appearing from behind a large crate at the other side of the room – reeled the poor dôji in.

Across the place, several more mechs stomped into view. All of their attention directed at the remaining two, while the elevator opened to reveal a mildly annoyed Desolas, who's eyes rested on the deathly wounded Sweeper shivering on the floor before addressing the one who shot the synthetic; "Now, now. Don't damage the merchandise too much. I'd like for at least one to be captured relatively intact."

"M-my apologies, sir." the Vurtok operator in question responded.

"And for your information." the general turned to Benezia, regarding her as if she's nothing but an annoying bug, "I did hear your little rant earlier. Would it put your mind more at ease to know that I did this for more than just the sweet little taste of revenge?"

The matriarch looked to Dirge, who was just about to explode in anger. "Go, I'll deal with him." she whispered to him.

The lone dôji needed no encouragement as he ignited his thrusters and launched himself at the closest enemy mech, forcing it on the defensive as the operator brought the machine's arm up to block Dirge's advance, only to see it get bent out of shape as the synthetic forced the arm aside and struck at the mech's canopy, attempting to break it apart in order to get to the operator inside. No matter what, if it's piloted, the organic component's always the weak spot.

Desolas however did not look troubled at all, "Capture it alive, no matter what the cost." ignoring the matriarch at first even as she brandished the gun she took from one of the soldiers earlier, and fired at him – only to see every round effortlessly stopped by the general's kinetic barrier. And even as she continued to shoot him, he calmly fished a pistol out of its holster and turned to approach the lone matriarch, "Now, where were we?"

Benezia refused to listen to his excuses, erecting a biotic barrier to protect herself from the barrage she expected would come.

But much to her surprise, he lifted the pistol and fired no more than a single shot, which passed through the barrier as if it wasn't even there, and subsequently passed through her chest, knocking all the air out of her as both of her lungs were violently punctured, followed by the severing of her spine. Rendered lame in her lower body, along with excruciating pain – she could do nothing but collapse like a doll with its strings cut.

_I-impossible, where did that come from... all of a sudden?_ She inwardly asked about the weapon he brought to bear against her. In the end though, it did not matter anymore as Desolas came to stand above her, glancing down at the mortally wounded asari. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Dirge as he finished off the first mech, and tried to take on the rest.. only to get his gauntlets run through by multiple harpoons as the enemies ganged up on him. Dirge flailing helplessly between them as they reeled in the wires and suspended the captured dôji above the floor.

Desolas crouched down next to the asari, "Killing you, is just a little bonus to me." he chuckled, "Kurozu, dôji.. it's like a treasure hunt. Imagine all the secrets they might possess, secrets that I will discover and exploit to ensure turian supremacy over every other race in the galaxy."

Benezia coughed weakly, slowly drowning in her own blood. "Y-you're mad..."

"But of course..." he continued remorselessly, looking to the capture further away with approval; "... this has to be done without the council knowing. So, we can't leave any witnesses behind to throw their weight around."

"You're p-playing a dangerous game, Desolas..." the matriarch wheezed hoarsely. Attempting to chortle at the turian's foolishness, no matter how much it hurt.

The general merely chuckled, "Don't worry..." pointing his gun at Benezia's head almost casually, "I've got it all under control."

She thought all the events of her life would pass before her eyes over the course of her very last moment. Yet all she could think of was her only daughter, before the final shot put her out of her misery.

_Liara..._

* * *

_Soon after..._

_Location_: 11th floor.

"Get the specimen sealed away. No dallying about, especially regarding the live one. Those thrusters are still active." Sepinur shouting the order as he watched the crews work at it. The newly acquired _dead_ one getting strapped down and packed away. The live one was much more difficult however, even with the help of mechs, the technicians fought hard to force the wriggling and cursing live dôji into the nearby container. Preparing all sorts of restraints and clamps to suppress its wild attempts to free itself and fight back.

Desolas watched the fervent attempts of fighting back with a grin on his face, "Make sure keep it under watch, and arrange for the strengthening of security in the facilities we got waiting for them."

"Already done, sir."

"Good. Now we just need to wait for the silver giant to be found."

"About that, Lt. Arus sent in a report, a short minute ago. His team managed to find something, and are on their way here as we speak."

Gratified by the news, Desolas turned away and marched for the wide-open hangar doors that had been forced open during the same event that cleared such a great amount of sand and dirt away. The storm still raged outside, but that did not stop Vurtoks, sporting the capability to project sensitive kinetic barriers in a wide radius around themselves to provide extra protection for the more vulnerable foot soldiers that often operate alongside them. Just as a tank would, mechs also need some support.

It only took a few minutes of waiting before he saw the tell-tale signs of a pulsing crystal-blue dome – strained by the winds whipping against it incessantly. The dome slowly made its way down the slope until it crossed into the hangar.. at which point the light dimmed as the operator shut the barrier down.

"What do you have for me?" Desolas inquired as he approached the troop, but slowed down upon seeing what was being held up by the mech's claws. Not a piece of the silver giant, but a dôji. The very same one he saw in the recordings... recognizing it despite the extensive damage it has suffered.

"I'm sorry, sir." Lt. Arus approached him, wiping a hand across his forehead, "We found no sign of the silver giant. Instead, we found this."

"Is it dead?" the general asked as he approached the body. In the way it's being held, it looked as though it had been crucified.

"I don't think so, sir." the lieutenant answered. "According to energy readings, it's still very much alive. It's just dormant right now. Sleeping, inactive... I don't know." he went to stand next to the general, "But we are most curious about this." prodding a finger against the dôji's left-side gauntlet, which is for some reason much bigger than the other. Looking more like a cocoon than a set of claws. "Our scans can't penetrate deep enough to make sense of this. But we've at least detected what sounds like heartbeats."

"Heartbeats? Of what?"

"We don't know. But heartbeats per minute seem to indicate there's a salarian inside."

Now, why is that? Desolas could not initially fathom why a salarian's _inside_ a dôji. That is, unless... "Where did you find this?"

"Right where the fallen silver giant was supposed to be.. why?"

The general sneered.. _Could it be? _No matter how absurd the thought may sound – is it possible that this dôji actually turned itself into a giant, using the salarian as a pilot... or some kind of fuel? In his head, the dots rapidly began to connect. "I believe we've found the greatest treasure here."

"Sir?"

"Have you made any attempts to kill the one inside it?" the chance of it being female was extremely little, as the vast majority of the salarian race is predominantly male.

"W-we've tried. But bullets are useless.. even the harpoon was deflected."

That only served to prove that this dôji and the silver giant's the one and the same in the general's mind, and he was largely correct in that assumption. Desolas spending a moment to pat a hand against the smooth surface of the 'cocoon' before turning back to the lieutenant, "Take it to the containers and have it stored away and secured. I want security tripled and all precautionary measures taken. In fact, triple everything. If there exist a core of diamonds in this mountain of gold we've found..." he prodded a finger hard against the dôji's chest for emphasis, "This one's it!"

For the first time in many years, he felt like he could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. The light of the glorious future that will be built for his people, using everything they'll eventually learn from studying the new technologies discovered on this day.

* * *

_Location_: Earth; Gobi factory interior; _Uncovering Sight_.

The stunned silence only lasted for the briefest moment as the party froze upon realizing what's upon them – just beyond the canopy, even though they could only see one of the monster's eyes.

First to overcome the fear that gripped them, Cole whirled away from the undead crew Garrus continued to gun down, and raised his left arm, reconfiguring the gauntlet into a cannon without much of a barrel to speak of, more a mortar than a cannon. Armed with an oversized bullet – which he sacrificed half the gauntlet to produce – larger than the turian's head, and fired it up without a second thought. The distance ensuring that accuracy's barely an issue worth thinking much about. The dôji launched the projectile with a resounding bang through the canopy, and into the pupil of the eye that hovered on the other side. The Deus ex Machina cursing lividly as it pulled itself out of sight. Followed by an explosion right after as the round embedded into its eye detonated.

"Hah, got it!" Cole guffawed, amazed that he managed to pull it off.

"Yeah, nice.." Nail groaned with much less enthusiasm, "We're knee-deep in rust, and you just had to piss off the only thing apparently content to just watch us wreck things. Except the glowing git right over there.." gesturing at the VI still going on with her sermon like the head of a death cult, consistently degrading both organics and synthetics alike – especially the former – for being alive.

"Stop the chatter and help!" Garrus growled at them. The former crew still trying to get to them.. even their severed limbs stubbornly attempting to advance, eager to squeeze the life out of the intruders. But his gunfire ended abruptly as the machine outside initiated an attack with a bladed weapon.

It was an impossibly thin and precise vertical cut. It passed through the bridge so quick that no one knew of the attack until it had passed. The turian staring, his mouth agape as the front half of his rifle dropped off. Just one inch closer, and the attack would have chopped off his trigger-finger as well. It was a miracle that no one was hurt by the attack.

The cut was so perfect, that it took the entire length of five seconds for reality to realize that the front of the ship had been sliced clean off and dropped into free fall. There was nothing dramatic about it. The front simply slid seamlessly off the rest of the ship, and crashed into the scaffolding below.

Tali shivered, afraid of where the next slice might land. "H-how about we call for that backup now?"

"Yes... now's a good time for that." Liara concurred.

"I will, just give me a moment.." Promina replied with similar fear as he initiated a henge, turning his right gauntlet into what resembled a peg. "Nail, cover me – will you?" before launching himself through the canopy, heading for the distant wall. Nail following suit with a grunt, acting very much as Promina's rearguard.

"And.. where are they going?!" Garrus asked, glancing at the departing synethetics.

"This here place is one huge Faraday cage." Cole told him, "Only communications' dôji got that henge. It's a resonator, sends a Morse code by initiating rhythmic tremors."

"Basically..." Tali started to ask in disbelief, she and the others hurrying to exit the sliced-off section of the ship as the unseen Deus ex Machina was about to initiate another attack, ".. people like him can send messages by initiating controlled _earthquakes_?!"

"Yes!" Cole shouted back, halting in his track as the enemy machine vaulted over the ship, landing on the ground a distance behind them.. The place was too dark to see it very clearly, except the sparks that indicated the gaping wound where its left eye used to be, "Yes, that's exactly it!" he and the rest preparing to fight as the blade-wielding machine approached them with thundering steps.

* * *

On the far side, Promina landed against the wall, and embedded the peg into it. Detaching the rest of his gauntlet from it once it's firmly set in place. "Okay, message put in. Initiating.. and brace yourself."

Nail braced himself alright, holding his ears as he watched Promina curl his other gauntlet into a fist and struck the butt-end of the peg. The entire chamber shaking almost violently as the initiation sent a sonic boom blasting through it.. and that was before the tremors started. "Augh, it's like listening to Eater when he's trying to sing..."

"He sings?"

"Fucking awfully! Made me seriously consider suicide in order to escape it, several times! He's surprisingly decent at yodeling though."

"Yodeling?"

"Yeah, which is the funny thing... Rage on the other hand can't yodel to save his life, but sings decently."

"Er, let's head back to the others. Okay?" Promina recommended.

Nail sighed, "Yeah, just don't tell either of those aspects what I've said – okay?"

"My lips are sealed.."

* * *

The group on the other side did not have much luck at all dealing with the Deus ex Machina trying to kill them all, alongside what remained of the undead crew as they – whole or not – climbed out of the ship and moved against the persistant intruders.

They had one advantage though, Tali made a fervent attempt to slow the giant down through cyberwarfare, while her comrades dealt with the walking corpses.. gunning them down two to three at a time while moving from cover to cover.

Disrupting the Deus ex Machina was a very difficult thing to do. Mostly she did it by blinding the machine's sensors, and sending over a lot of junk data. But the extent at which she could do this was steadily decreasing as the AI controlling the thing learned her tricks, and countered accordingly. It would not be long until it'd be completely immune to her hacking attempts. "Guys, I can't keep it at bay for much longer..."

"Keep trying." Garrus called out to her as he nimbly ducked when a number of the more armed corpses fired back at his position, "Only need to hold out until help gets here.."

The giant sprang forward, lifting its sword overhead as it directed all of its attention on the quarian – determined to cut the annoying alien down.

"Raven's scale!" Nail cried out as he thrust his Pilebunker henge into its left leg, causing the monster to stumble and halt its intended attack as the blow nearly broke the ankle-joint. Instead, it turned to the dôji below, trying to smash him flat with the butt of its blade, "Oh, for the love of tea and biscuits.." Promina's attempts at diverting the machine's attack vector by shooting at its weapon-bearing arm doing nothing to deter it.

Nail brought up his arms to defend himself from the imminent impact.. but was instead greeted by silence.

"Huh..?" Garrus muttered, looking as the remaining five bodies in front of them froze solid mid-step. The same thing had happened to the Deus ex Machina. One particular thing caught his attention even more so. A bullet close to his face was suspended in thin air. Unmoving, along with the mass effect field trailing in its wake, "What just... happened?"

Nail nervously peered past his shielding gauntlets at the butt of the machine's weapon.. which had been halted just a couple of feet away from him – and shrank away from its fiery remaining eye. "This is..."

Far above them, the wall where the peg had been placed previously shattered into a million fragments that flew through the chamber until they too slowed down and stopped.

"W-why is _he_ the backup?" Promina asked breathlessly as he looked up at the dôji coming down towards them, walking on the suspended fragments like they're a fancy set of stairs.

Dôji and aliens alike peered up at the visage of Grand Aspect Ultimo himself, who scanned the view with sad eyes. Especially saddened by the sight of the aliens that had been subverted by the kurozu.

"Why are you here?" Liara called out her question, "I thought.."

Ultimo tilted his head, "Come." he said with a sense of finality, "The outer defenses has been demolished, but the other infiltration teams have reported that the kurozu are erasing all relevant data from this location. There's no longer any reason for you to stay here." distantly, the team below him could feel distant tremors as the army tore into the factory itself. Battles now ongoing inside the structure.

Liara sank to her knees, "... So this has all been for nothing?"

"I'm afraid so..." the grand aspect replied, preparing a spatial ball for the team to use.

"Wait!" Tali interjected.

The dôji stopped, directing his attention at the quarian curiously.

"Can you perform that transportation thing on large objects?"

"Yes, of course." Ultimo replied, raising a delicate eyebrow at the quarian, "Though it depends what you're referring to.."

"This.." Tali gestured to the sliced-off front section of the _Uncovering Sight_, "... and a few other parts. With the equipment on this ship, I may be able to open a line of communications to the expedition!"

The grand aspect's eyes widened, "Are you certain?"

"Yes, positive!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Discovery**

* * *

_Date_: Late on 8th April, 3573 A.D.

_Location_: Central dome; Outskirts.

They were given a trip directly to an accommodation that has been prepared for them – following a trip through the armory. Liara looked around as the aftereffects waned – though she was starting to get used to it – taking in the details of the room they were given. Several makeshift beds was lined up against the wall, along with a couple of tables and several comfy-looking chairs. It looked simple, but much better than sleeping on the cold floor – the asari eying the bed closest to her, and flung herself onto it without investing a second thought.

She sighed in passing delight as she sank into it, burying her face in the pillow after wrapping the blanket around herself.

"You okay?" Garrus asked, landing himself onto the bed of his choosing – not looking like he's tired in the least. Or at least not nearly as much, the training regime he used being far more suitable for things like what they've just gone through... that is, minus the things nothing could have prepared them from. His concern regarding what they had discovered regarding Mornoa & crew's cruel fate.

She wasn't doing fine at all. And the vague hint of the turian calling attention to it – however unintentional – only made it worse. Liara was doing her best to cope with it, but was failing miserably. The moment she tried to close her eyes, Mornoa's dead eyes stared into her own, "N-no.. h-how can I be okay after all of that?!" nearly shouting back at the turian.

Garrus lowered his head slightly, "Sorry about that. At the very least, still being disgusted by what we've seen means we're still relatively sane."

"That supposed to cheer me up?" Liara exhaled in annoyance.

"Reassurance, if nothing else."

"If you want." Promina asked. Tali did not come with them. Instead helping with the dismantling and relocation of the _Uncovering sight_, being the leading expert on element zero technology. "I could give-" pausing mid-sentence as another spatial ball appeared in the middle of the room, almost knocking one of the tables over in the process.

From it, the aspect of discipline materialized and let out a flat; "My goodness.." as he reached out and steadied the aforementioned table with his staff. "Sorry about that, am I interrupting something?" his eyes resting on the surprised Promina for a second before moving on to regard the organics.

"Er, no." the lesser dôji clumsily replied, "Just... I w-was just about to humbly request for your assistance, sir."

Garrus stared at the bald dôji, wondering how he could possibly help them. A traumatic experience isn't something one can shake off at a drop of a hat, not even with proper medicine and therapists.

"Huh?" Liara forced herself back up, "I did not think we'd meet again so soon."

"You know him?" the turian inquired in turn, pointing a thumb at the synthetic.

"Y-yeah, met him while we were split up earlier during our ill-fated attempt to escape. Of course, we couldn't communicate very well back then."

"Indeed. And having just been through the depths of a kurozu factory, I'm certain you've seen how horrible they can be, _again_."

Liara shivered, "More than I imagined. They turned the Uncovering sight's crew into mindless zombies."

"Yet that is but a tiny hint of their cruelty." Regula said, much to the organics' incredulity. "Corpses turned undead through nanotechnology. All to scare their prey senseless." he sighed softly while approaching slowly, and sat down on the chair closest to the two he focused on. "I can help you relax, if you wish. Submerge you into dreamless sleep."

"How?" Garrus asked, understandably doubtful.

"Even we can be traumatized. Participants of the battle are coming in droves to the temples as the fighting decreases. Mostly young ones who just experienced their first major battle. Older, and more experienced ones cope with the experience better. Organics especially can suffer for a long time after a horrifying life-changing event. I can remove much of the mental pain you're having with my Noh power: Memory manipulation."

"Fascinating.." Liara whispered, "But wouldn't erasing memories be somewhat counterproductive?"

"Yep." Regula replied in agreement, "There are other ways to go about it though."

Garrus could not help but chuckle, "But since you're all so equipped for fighting, how does such a power help in combat?"

The synthetic raised an arm and raised his fingers one by one in turn as he explained, "Engraving information into others minds, no matter how distant – to inform allies, or cause the enemy to go through endless trouble." Regula replied with a mischievous grin, "Don't underestimate the advantage in making an enemy forget what he was doing, or about to do."

"...Phew. Scary thought." the turian admitted, "You bring up good points. Just don't give me any mental images, okay?"

"Hah, can't promise anything."

"But that gets me thinking.." Liara moved herself figuratively between them, "Engraving information.. isn't that kind of like-?" nodding in Promina's general direction – who squirmed uncomfortably as he suddenly landed into the middle of their attention.

The aspect smiled warmly, "Indeed. Some lesser dôji are born with traits that resemble those of their progenitor. Communication dôji for example are all related to me." his attention now on the minor dôji, "Promina, son of Gram and Surt. Am I right?"

"Y-yes, sir."

"Still in touch with your parents?"

"Um, not as much as we used to. Heard they're going to renew their contract though, to have another child together."

"Wonderful news."

Liara couldn't help but grin. This small talk of children made her think of Pardonner, who's due shortly. And that train of thought reminded her of just how little time there is until that little event. It meant she could not waste too much time, and needed to get some rest fast. "Excuse me, but I think.." she spoke up, gently intervening as she eased herself back into the bed, "... it's time for that sleep-aid. Need to get up a little early, after all."

That earned a tiny embarrassed grin from the aspect as he pushed himself off the chair and approached her. ".. Of course." his attention drifting to the turian as he sat down on his knees next to Liara's bed, "You should probably lie down as well. I've got many people waiting for me."

"Eh, you know what? I'm good." Garrus shook his head almost vehemently. Uncomfortable with the idea of someone getting inside of his head "I can deal."

"Suit yourself." Regula turned back to Liara, "Close your eyes and we'll get started."

She offered him a small nod before closing her eyes, trying to empty her mind and relax as much as possible. She only heard a faint whisper from the dôji; _Noh power: activate._ And before she knew it, descended into fitful sleep. As deep as it was comforting as the painful memories were – for the time being – suppressed, allowing peace to embrace her.

If she could review this dreamless state, she'd call it the best rest she's had in a very long time.

* * *

_Date_: 9th April, 3573 A.D.

_Location_: Central Dome; The Core.

"I know you like jigsaw puzzles... but isn't this a tiny bit much?" Vice asked half-incredulously as he and his colleagues watched the interior image of storehouse 9-B, that is currently being used to house the hastily partly disassembled _Uncovering sight_. A crowd of workers surrounded it, watching in deep curiosity. All of them assigned to work as assistants for Tali'Zorah, who could be seen walking between the segmented pieces of the craft, pointing and shouting at her clueless assistants; giving them a crash-course regarding what they're about to do.

Ultimo giggled, as if his evil colleague just uttered a joke; "You enjoy puzzles too, you know."

"Destroying them, yes." the fellow grand aspect groaned, "You assemble it, I take it apart. But this thing's already taken apart, no fun in that."

Milieu smiled, absently running a finger along the fan he carried while resting his gaze on the image. "Aren't you excited, Vice? If Tali'Zorah can deliver on her claim-"

"He'd prefer to see tentacled slimy monsters, Milieu." Ultimo grinned gently, "But the only tentacled ones out there are... relatively cute."

Vice nearly hid his face in his palms out of exasperation, "It's such a let-down... I want to see a real frightening alien, like what appear in horror movies. Aliens aren't supposed to be... cute."

The others giggled. But whether Vice is naturally inclined towards starfish aliens because he's evil or for some other reason was a question best not asked.

The laughter them an annoyed grunt from Vice soon enough, "Oh, shut the hell up..."

"So much for that piece of fun." Milieu shrugged, tapping the tip of his fan against his chin as he observed – deep in thought. At least they gained something from this latest mass battle, though the prize was admittedly meager – considering how many had perished. For now, he and the others waited for the arrival of the organics. That is, all but the quarian – along with the com dôji attached to them.

It did not take long for someone to grab their collective attention, as Sophia entered the chamber, approaching the 'big three' with a solemn expression that clearly spoke of no good. Still, Milieu greeted him amiably, "Good morning, Sophia. Do you have something to report?"

"Yes, in fact I do." the blonde-maned dôji replied, looking rather stiff.

"Have you heard anything from Slow?" Ultimo ventured to ask, concerned.

Sophia looked down, "No, there has been no word. But there is _something_ that has happened on Mars, though exactly what isn't very clear yet."

The grand aspect sank into his seat, "I see..."

"With some effort, we've been able to make out what looks like a fleet in orbit around Mars. It doesn't seem to be kurozu in any case."

"An alien fleet, you say?" Vice asked with a sneer.

"Yes, but it seems to be falling back. Leaving the system."

"Sophia.." he formulated a question without thinking too much of the impact. "How would you rate the possibility of the fleet having done something to our wayward Slow, and his team?"

Sophia gaped, visibly troubled, "I-impossible to say. I apologize. Between the potential multitude of kurozu and the aliens..."

Milieu sighed, throwing a sideways glance at the now much more concerned Ultimo and hurried to defuse this topic, "Let's not jump to conclusions, Vice."

"Hmpf. Organics, no matter how fascinating; react to the unknown in two ways consistently: Destroy, or capture it for study." Vice said with a shake of his head, "I wouldn't be surprised if they've done something if the kurozu didn't manage to. Especially considering those birds' attitude." pointing at Saren and Nihlus without explicitly referring to them by name.

The other dôji all looked like they just got a cold shower.

"Depending on what their leaders end up saying, we should consider-"

"No, Vice." Milieu told him sternly, closing his fan with a loud snap. A little upset as he regarded the fellow grand aspect.

Sophia seemed to consider vacating the chamber, taking a slight step back at what looked like and argument about to explode. The Core happened to be one of the most heavily armored places in dôjidom, not particularly for the sake of fending off enemy assault.. but instead built solidly enough to withstand the occasions when the grand aspects' deliberations turn into full-blown fights in order to come to an agreement. Considering what each of them embody though, it's pretty natural.

Fortunately, much to the blonde's great relief, this did not seem like one of those times as Vice shrugged, "Okay. Just keep it in mind, to use as a last resort."

Milieu stared at him. The aspect of evil was pretty much suggesting a hostage situation, that much was obvious. He disliked the idea of it, but mulled it over anyway... and reluctantly came to the conclusion that Vice was right. For all the human insistence that violence solves nothing, history demonstrates clearly that it has been far more successful than diplomacy. They might have no choice but to dirty their own hands in order to bring Slow and the others back home... "Alright. Last resort."

Vice snorted, though with an underlying victorious grin to go along with it, "All I'm asking."

But before they could continue their talk, one of the guards stationed outside entered the throne room, "Sirs, visitors have arrived and wish to enter. Shall we allow them to?"

That could only be them... except, they should have been able to walk right in without complication – that is,_ if_ Regula's with them. "... Let them in." Milieu said firmly, not giving voice to the question on his mind just yet.

The guard bowed in acknowledgment and left in a hurry to usher the guests in.. Promina the first one to pierce the illusory veil that covered the entrance. Looking rather awkward as he waited for the rest to enter.

"Hm. Where is Regula?"

* * *

Liara made it just in time to hear the question, and the answer as Promina spoke up; "I don't know. Said he was going to pick up the other aliens, but hasn't showed up yet."

"So... we'll have to proceed without them for now, then." Ultimo's shoulders noticeably sagged.

"What's the news on the ground?" Garrus asked up front the moment he entered, "Where's Tali, is she alright?"

Vice casually flipped around the image they already had up and enlarged it for him to see, "See for yourself. Hard at work getting stuff working."

The turian nodded at the satisfactory answer, straight to the point. "And what of the battle. Did the rest of it go well?"

"Not wasting any time, are you?" Milieu seemed rather amused, but it only lasted for a moment before his expression became serious. "The cost was high, but the factory's been defeated. Most of our forces have been withdrawn from the area, only two regiments remain to finish the job. They'll withdraw within the next couple of hour as soon as they penetrate to the critical line and plant the bomb. It'll purge the area, like decay are purged from a cavity."

"Good, that place was... terrible."

"They all are."

"Um." Liara entered the conversation, "What's the status of the expedition?"

The members of the triumvirate glanced at one another about that before Sophia decided to answer it for them; "We don't know, the situation is unclear. We detected what was in all likelihood an alien fleet. It recently arrived at Mars, and left only a few hours after. Status on the surface, unknown."

"Then give us back our shuttle and we'll head out and check for ourselves." Garrus insisted.

Vice shook his head, "Not a chance. For the time being you'll have to remain here."

"What?" the turian balled his hands into fists in near-outrage.

"Aspect Slow and his team remains missing. We need to consider all possibilities and keep you here, for now."

But Garrus wasn't about to simply accept that, and was only stopped when Ultimo let out a stifled sob. The alien lowering his hands as he stared at a very desperate Ultimo, who bowed down far enough for his forehead to meet the floor; "Please... understand."

Met with such a disarmingly humble display, Garrus could do little but to let his moment of anger drain away. "Don't... don't act like that in front of me..." he pleaded with renewed calm, trying to avert his eyes.

The good dôji sniffed as he pushed himself back up, "... I'm sorry."

"Rest assured." Milieu noted, "You may wander as you like, as long as you don't leave our domain. But anyway, we've read Promina's report. Though there are no specifics nor details about what the kurozu's plans are, the words of the maddened 'VI' you met on board the Uncovering Sight were most telling."

Liara audibly swallowed, "They're not going to stop."

"They never will, unless broken first." Vice grunted, clasping a gauntlet almost violently. "What a fine mess this galactic civilization of yours got us in. This means we will need to be more.. invasive. Which in turn, will be a whole lot riskier."

"What is the problem?" the turian asked sternly, almost laughing. "That army you mobilized blew through a defense of millions in no time at all. Most organic armies would've taken weeks of constant total war to grind down such a force conventionally."

"That might be true." Milieu took over, "But the numbers they fielded at Gobi factory was just a tiny limb of a much greater beast. Estimates place the enemy's number of combat units in the hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions. Even if we mobilized all of dôjidom, we'd lose a war of raw attrition."

Garrus looked as if he just got showered by a truckload of liquid nitrogen as he froze at the numbers. But he was quick enough to recover from it, though his voice remained frosty; "Then what do we do?"

"Not much. We're redoubling excavation efforts with added funding and manpower, with the hope that it might yield something useful."

_Excavation?_ That piqued the asari's interest instantly, "You mean archaeological digs?"

"Aye." the evil dôji huffed, "Got sixty of 'em across the globe. The largest one's off the coasts of Siberia and New York."

"Off the coasts?" that struck Liara as curious.

Slight frustration colored Vice's expression, "The humans built their most modern cities along the coasts, and across the oceans over their last few centuries. That's why."

"I see. But that reminds me, I would like to study human history. Promina mentioned a library earlier, during the mission."

Milieu seemed to approve of that, "I see. Considering how much of a help you've been, asari, you got our permission. But you might as well go to the vault if you promise to be careful. The library is where we keep artifacts easy to replicate and maintain."

"Yes!" Liara nearly shouted, not able to hide her excitement. Nothing fascinated her more than history, "I'll be very careful."

"That said, who's turn was it to hold onto the key this time?" the silvery dôji asked, looking to his compatriots.

They were silent in thought until finally the evil one grinned ominously, "Wasn't it Désir's time to hold onto it this time around? Think he's taking a day off downtown, figuratively speaking, before going back to the Northern dome."

"Hm, I see." Ultimo hummed, making another spatial ball flicker into existence with a gesture, "This will send you to a place within adequate distance of the places he works at during his Central dome shift. Those are your best bets for finding him."

* * *

_A minute later..._

Garrus lamented humorously at his situation. All alone now, waiting for Nihlus and Saren to get here. Liara touched the offered orb almost immediately, along with Promina – who tagged along, as Liara would have gotten lost without a guide. Leaving the turian behind without a second thought.

Anyway, this meant it fell to him to finish this meeting, to get all the information he can from the triumvirate, and fill the rest in later. "Now where were we?" he asked, it required no answer; "If you had the choice, what would you prefer to find in the ruins of those places?"

"Frogfoot." Ultimo curtly said, "More specifically the means to produce them."

"Frogfoot?" the turian repeated. It was a rather odd and clumsy-sounding name far as he's concerned, "What are those?"

"Guardian units. An old design that served the humans loyally throughout many wars until they were nearly all destroyed during – and in the aftermath of – the end war while they tried to protect their creators."

"Interesting." Garrus replied half-heartedly. _Great, more synthetics._ "Anything else...?"

Ultimo was rather dejected by the turian's apparent lack of interest, the energy he had built up explaining and praising the type of machine disappearing in almost an instant. "Well.." Milieu coughed, "We could use more-"

"-No, it's not _cute_!"

The sudden outburst redirected everyone's attention to the entrance. Garrus turned just in time to see Regula enter – looking extremely ticked off, a massive change from his remarkable composure earlier. Walking alongside one of the most effeminate dôji he had ever seen. This one's hakama was little different from the others, but his upper body's covered by a loose sleeveless top that barely covered his chest – leaving the arms and waist largely exposed. His blue mane, visors and gauntlets contrasting Regula's and Sophia's bright yellow colors, and Ultimo's red very distinctively.

This newcomer answered Regula with a sheepish grin, not at all fussed over the anger projected at him by the aspect of discipline. His eyes quickly looking over the Garrus the moment the alien was in his line of vision, "Oh~ another alien bird, Garrus I believe. Ain't that the truth, folks?"

He did not know what to think. So taken aback that he failed to be insulted by this dôji's very directly referring to him as a bird, "Er, and who are you?"

"Name's Service." the blue-maned synthetic replied, lowering himself by bending his knees slightly in greetings – instead of bowing. "I am the aspect of generosity."

"This moron came to the temple last night and... kind of kidnapped your comrades."

"That's too strong a choice of words." Service faked indignation with a largely fake groan, "I merely invited them for a little party, that's all."

"And dressed them up..."

"Is that such a problem?"

"It's a whole slew of problems, idiot!"

"Wait now, hold on..." Garrus waved at them almost frantically, "... What did you mean, '_dressed them up'_?"

Regula answered raptly; "Took away their armor and gave them other clothes to put on."

"And-" that did not seem even remotely as bad as the aspect made it sound. "- _how_ is that bad?"

"You'll see." the synthetic rolled his eyes, half turning around one of the 'wayward' turians entered the chamber – both appearing to be lagging behind for one reason or another.

Nihlus approached them awkwardly, not looking so professional at all. With a black hat on top, a red bandana around his neck. Otherwise wearing a snap-button denim shirt, a dark vest over it, jeans sporting an incredibly oversized belt buckle and a patterned pair of black riding boots to go along with it. "Hey, Garrus. Check out the suit that blue one gave me."

The fellow turian was rendered completely speechless by the sight, his mandibles twitching like mad as he desperately tried to form words that matched his thoughts; "W-w-w-what in the world of s-spirits are you wearing?"

"Ah, well.." Nihlus pushed his hat up with a finger to scratch his head, "This is, um.. what is it called again?" turning almost too quickly to Service, who was very eager to answer.

"It's called a cowboy outfit. Fits, doesn't it?"

Regula obviously did not agree, "The visitors ain't toys, Service."

"It's alright." Nihlus straightened the vest, "I... I kind of like this thing, for some reason."

Garrus could not believe what he was hearing, "You've been brainwashed."

"Can't remember that." the spectre shrugged nonchalantly. "But if you think this is bad, wait till you see Saren."

"I-" Garrus paled, "-don't even want to know."

And as if called, Saren made his appearance with a grimace that clearly cried out to the world; _Please, shoot me._

He wore a much more bizarre suit – with the appearance of a vaguely round pink bear with small bat wings on his back.. and a gigantic red ball dangling over his head like it's about to fall and crush him at any moment. The only reason anyone could recognize Saren was by examining the nose, which acted like the wearer's window to the outside. He looked downright miserable.

Service hummed thoughtfully, "He looked kinda freaky, so I wanted to have him put on something adorable."

"That's...not...adorable... at all." Regula hammered out, fuming.

The other aspects within the chamber were divided in regards to opinion. Not sure whether to be incredulous at this development, or be amused. Vice however was utterly shocked, "Service... what the fuck is that? It's too big and fluffy.. and … ugh." he uttered slowly, looking like he was about to lash out if Saren came any closer, "Seriously, the_ fuck_ is that thing?!"

"It's my Moogle outfit." Service winked almost proudly, "Created it after I saw images of such creatures in old data files in the vault. Been saving it for a special occasion."

Garrus turned his eyes to Regula while they were at it, "Please tell me you still got their armor."

"Service kinda... uh, threw those away." the other groaned, "But I've got people out searching for them. Just be patient."

His jaw dropped again, reduced to a nearly helpless spectator as the situation spiraled wildly out of control around him. Fearful for the eventual debriefing that communicating with the expedition would lead to.. or spirits forbid, the council. The thought of Saren reporting to the council while dressed up in that huge and fluffy puffy ridiculous 'moogle' outfit was too horrible to contemplate.

* * *

Meanwhile...

_Location_: Central dome; downtown; 77th street.

They had been dropped off in the middle of a street, though one dominated by pedestrians. That noted, there weren't all that many people around. A few here and there, but nothing that could remotely qualify as a crowd like what she saw earlier before she met Regula for the first time.

Liara took a few steps, but quickly felt an overwhelming gratitude toward Promina for tagging along at the last moment before her borderline childish excitement and anticipation sent her here without a guide. "Where should we go first?"

Promina's face lit up – acting strangely shy – as he raised an arm and pointed down the street going, unknown to her, northward; "T-that way."

"Something wrong?" the asari ventured to ask.

The dôji looked up and shook his head almost violently, "N-no, nothing." averting his eyes at the last moment as a strange gleam crossed it.

"I don't know..." she wondered, resting a hand underneath her chin, "You're acting kinda strange."

"What?" Promina blurted out and waved his arms frantically, "Not at all, I'm just a little... um, bothered... that's all!"

"By what?" she pried.

"Let's just go, okay?" he half-shouted, not wanting to talk about it and walked off in the direction he pointed out.

Deciding not to push too hard, Liara let the subject lie for now. Following the synthetic through the area.

Along the way, more than a few people stopped.. their attention directed at the passing asari. But the curious glares were easily ignorable. Her interest was more in Promina's demeanor as he kept a steady pace at first before slowing down until she overtook him – which he reacted to by clumsily speeding back up. His face had turned all red.

It made her think of a conversation back in the Gobi factory, a mission she now would have asked of Regula to banish from her memory if it was not bit a dose of common sense to fight that desire down. Noting Promina's interest in a certain dôji, specifically the one they're going to see.

She was of one mind to try and sate her innate curiosity – but chose to not utter a single question, instead letting him take the lead until they arrived at a building that did not seem to stand out in any particular way from her point of view, until she noticed the intricate designs woven into its construction. Exotic ones that just could not help but attract the attention of those walking past it. The name of the place was written in a pair of highly sophisticated letters unlike what she had ever seen before. Without a doubt difficult to translate, but it sure looked... neat.

Liara studied the structure from a distance as if to thoroughly burn it into her memory, only looking away from it as Promina once again fell behind – blushing much more than before, trying to muster the courage to move on.

Reassuringly, she placed a hand onto his back and led him onward – through the entrance up ahead, and down the corridor beyond it, before they finally entered what might be the main chamber of the place.

The interior reminded her of the Purgatory bar back on the Citadel, which she visited once about ten years ago – far as she remembered. Except this place wasn't arranged on platforms of various elevations. It looked well-decorated, with a lot of comfortable-looking furniture.

The light was a little dim however, the place lit only by faint pulsing lights. Music could be heard too, but on a very low volume. It looked like the establishment was taking a break like the rest of the city.

But devoid of people, it wasn't. This place looked like a mixture of a bar, dance club, hotel... and a brothel – the last part was a guess based on the look of the employees of the place. Customers ain't here, but those working here sure are. They were resting, were – until Liara and Promina entered.. and swiftly became the center of attention. All of them dressed in uniforms akin to the rest of their kind, only more provocative. With an emphasis on the color red, pink and purple. Mostly exotic colors.

It did not take long for her to feel like a piece of meat under the narrow-eyed suggestive glares they sent her way. A few humming in desirous curiosity, a few licking their lips, more raising their finely defined eyebrows – looking like predators about to pounce. Yet they moved with grace, making a bit of a show of themselves as they tried to entice the visitors. Some did this by themselves.. others in pairs or in bigger groups.

The asari resisted their attempt at getting her interested, though she ended up swallowing nervously as the atmosphere of the place turned heavy. The slight dark and pulsing lights, the temperature of the place along with an interesting perfume and choice of music altogether proved distracting.

Promina though had a much harder time, blushing heavily as he visibly fought to resist their charms – as if to try and look tough, which only elicited scattered giggles from the onlookers that could clearly see him struggling to keep his desires at bay. These took great interest in his brave – if ultimately useless – attempt to brush them off and moved to the offensive in more of a suggestive manner, swift to completely surround the lone com dôji, whose hard-fought composure fractured under all the close and focused attention.

Part of her mind watched this process in fascination, but a more rational part of it declared that she did not have time for this, "Excuse me! Would you mind letting him go?"

Her words did nothing to discourage them from their chosen course – as they broke through Promina's last mental defenses and left him swooning before the dôji closest to him as the lustful employees crossed into his personal space. The one in front looking just about ready to wrap his arms around Promina, as if to claim this latest catch. Seducing the poor dôji with sheer proximity and gentle words of compliments and promises.

Long it did not take thought before someone finally called out a rapt; "Halt." to stop them.

Most of the mostly rose-colored synthetics stopped in their tracks and – with reluctance – reclined to look over to the one the voice belonged to. Another beautiful dôji, dressed in a kimono that was both humble and colorful in appearance. "Aw, not now..." the one who had landed Promina into his clutches the most whined, the others joining in until the more modestly dressed synthetic snapped at them to shut up and move aside.

Liara watched as the employees finally relented and scattered, going back to where they rested previously. She turned to the one who helped them, "Thanks for the help, um.."

"Call me Rosa." the synthetic replied with a hearty giggle, "First off, I must apologize for my cute little bunnies. You see, virgins gives off such a irresistible scent – for those who can sense it."

The asari looked to her comrade, who looked extremely distracted.. as if he didn't even know where he was. "That's why they..."

Rosa approached the confused dôji with a broad smile, inhaling the young one's scent with a long delighted sigh.. "Yes~ There's a slight stigma against coming to these places before going through at least one contract. Virgin dôji are like forbidden fruit. And that kind of fruit's the tastiest." giving Promina a pat on the head before turning back to Liara, "But... I guess you – one of the first organics to ever step into dôjidom – did not come here for our services."

"I.. I did not entirely expect to see something so... so vulgar."

"Dear, dear." the dôji whispered melodiously, "Where there's good, there's evil. Where there's love, there is also desire. Our kind embrace both sides, and hold them equally in high regard."

The image of Vice invaded her mind. Her eyebrow twitching as she forcefully banished it before casting the topic aside, "I see. We came to look for Désir. Is he here? It's important."

".. Yes, he's here. Sleeping in the room he uses whenever it's time for his Central dome shift. If you wish to see him, you may."

"Take us to him then." Liara grabbed Promina by his shoulder, about to drag him along as the surrounding 'bunnies' lit up at the possibility of the com dôji being left behind, until proven wrong.

Rosa giggled at how defensive she acted, "Follow me then." and turned, heading to the closest elevator.

Liara nodded and half-dragged the synthetic in her grasp along. Away from the eyes of those still sizing him up from the shadows.

* * *

It did not take long to arrive. A minute to ascend to the top floor, and another one to reach the room where the aspect of Lust rested in.

Liara along with the fidgeting Promina stood outside waiting for Rosa – who went in to inform the aspect of the visitors first – to get back. The asari held onto her comrade by the shoulder tightly, as if she was trying to chaperone him. More of this brothel's 'bunnies' walking past now and then, and never failed to give Promina a wave or wink. It was somewhat unnerving to her. "Er, why did you not say this was... _that_ kind of place?"

The heavily distracted comrade just barely acknowledged her with a blink, "Er.. um, we'd have to go here anyway."

It wasn't much of an answer, but it made a good enough point. Liara nodded in satisfaction, though was far from happy about it.

Fortunately, it did not take long before Rosa returned.. "He's awake. Feel free to enter."

"Okay, thanks." Liara replied gratefully, "Let's go."

Promina only nodded, lamely at that.

"Straighten up, champ." Rosa told him with barely contained glee. Giving the communications' dôji a clap in the back as he and the alien headed in. "If you want to make a good impression, don't stand around like a plank."

_So he noticed too?_ Liara let her shoulders sag. Promina's movements had gotten stiffer the closer they got to this room. But... here we are.

She spent a moment to scan the largely circular room, but most of her attention landed on the round bed in the middle, covered in sheets of red... with a dôji lying on it. The sight of Désir made a shiver run down her shiver, and in not a single good way. He was lying on his belly, with arms folded under his chin – regarding them with those piercing eyes. Many of these synthetics' optics are piercing, especially among the aspects. But this one's in a special league of his own. Once again she got the feel of being a piece of meat dangling in front of a looming predator. How synthetics feel, being looked at like that, she had no idea. But did not even need to look to realize that his face had turned luminescent at the sight.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Désir finally asked, his tone jovial.. "Gotten bored of being with the goody two shoes?"

"We came to get the key to the vault." Liara stated, going straight to the point.

The aspect almost looked disappointed as he shrugged, running a solitary finger up and down his throat; "That's it? Not looking to see what we got to offer here? Kick back and relax once in a while, take a good drink and enjoy what hospitality our bunnies are more than willing to offer."

But the asari did not relent. Many of her kind would have taken him up on the offer, but not the daughter of Benezia. "Just the key, thank you."

He exhaled quietly, "Alright, come closer."

Of course, she was reluctant to do just that.. but did it anyway. Liara moved closer to the bed, and was rendered slightly indignant when he gestured for her to lean down onto the bed, "If you're asking for a kiss in exchange for the key..."

"Wasn't going to ask that..." Désir chuckled, "But I'll consider it next time.. here..." and threw his head back, a bulge moving up his throat before he opened his mouth wide, tongue poking out beyond his lips just barely.. with a perfectly round and flat object resting on top of it. In all probability, the key she was after.

Liara froze. The aspect had been storing the item inside his body.. Weird, but admittedly much safer than any safe and pocket. She was waiting for him to take it out, but instead he remained in that position.. with that key remaining on top of his tongue. He actually meant for _her_ to retrieve it. _Is this some sort of... test?_

She expected herself to be even more reluctant, even distrustful, if not fearful.. but instead, fascination took hold. There are legends out there in the galaxy of situations where olden heroes reached into the maw of monsters as a test of trust or courage. This situation was like it was taken right out of those legends, did the humans have something similar stories? She couldn't wait to see for herself.

Unexpectedly excited by the risk, she raised her hand and reached out. Feeling the heat as her thumb, index and middle fingers brushed against his tongue, which moved in response just barely.. as if tasting her – the dôji gasping a moan under his breath, as if to confirm that notion – as she curled her fingers around the object.. grasped it, and finally – with deliberate slowness – pulled it out. The key now safely in her hand, the aspect licked his lips before snapping them shut. "Now, that wasn't so hard now.. was it?" he purred alluringly, regarding her with a delicate eyebrow raised high.

Liara gripped the item tightly, looking down upon its emblem.. breathing like she had been through a real workout, "T-thank you."

"Pleasure." he nodded with an illustrious smirk, "Come back when you feel like playing around for a change."

Promina, who had up till then remained still – trying desperately to compose himself enough to approach the aspect – realized they are just about to leave again. Overcoming his stupor with an explosive gasp, he approached the bed; "S-sir, I w-would like to-"

Liara would have preferred to leave right now, but watched them warily – ready to step in with a biotic attack if things went out of hand.

Désir turned to the eager lesser dôji, his smirk widening. "I could sense you a mile away, little fruit." he snickered, using a nickname akin to the words Rosa used to describe one such as Promina; a forbidden fruit. "So young, yet ready to play with the big boys? Heh... don't be a fool."

She could not help but stare. He looked about ready to reel the eager lesser dôji in, but the last part nearly made her jump.

It wasn't lost on Promina either, who stood there – stunned.

"Your eagerness is commendable.. " the aspect's smirk faded gradually as he got up and off the bed, stepping close enough to break through the lesser dôji's personal space. Like those bunnies downstairs did, but much more briskly - and wrapped an arm around the back of his head.. "... but this, is a bit too early for you yet."

"...Why?" Promina asked, trembling. That is, until Désir pulled him closer.. meeting him forehead to forehead.

"A little principle of mine, little fruit." the aspect uttered, unexpectedly serious.. "I'm ever ready to sate whatever carnal desire anyone might have without end. But I don't take in those who hasn't enjoyed the warmth of both child and bond-mate. Pleasure and euphoria is my arena, but not happiness. Do you understand?"

The com dôji looked just about ready to protest and flail – to boast of not being an innocent. That he wanted to say how much he wanted this meeting.. yet, the gleam in his eyes faded under Désir's intense gaze. The aspect for a split moment projecting a small measure of his insatiable lust, all to make it clear that no matter what Promina says.. he's not ready. The intensity of what he saw was overwhelming.. so much that his attempted posturing collapsed and fell to dust, like fragile leaves of a tree before a razorwind. And finally, Promina let his head fall into a nod in surrender.

"Good." Désir let go and gave him a pat on the back, "Go, find that love the virtues like to preach about so damned much. After that, we'll see." Désir turned to leave, but went to Liara first.. whispering very quietly; "Now, take the fruit and go... before I change my mind."

"I will.." she replied in the same hushed tone, "And... thank you."

…

Soon enough, they had exited the building. With Rosa waving goodbye behind them before heading back in.

"Feeling better?" Liara asked.

Promina looked down at the ground, like something interesting was hidden in the cracks between the pavements, "...L-Liara, where did I go wrong?"

"Everyone makes mistakes along the way. You just have to learn from those mistakes and improve."

"Y-yeah...you're right." he raised his head to stare into the distance. "I wonder where I might meet my first other half."

Liara smiled pleasantly as they headed for the vault, "Just keep on living, and eventually you just might find him."

* * *

_Location_: North America; Eastern Coast; New York; Empire state spire; Dig site 14.

To think, just nine hours ago they were celebrating. The dig site had been in operation for less then a decade in one of the first off-shore mega-structure arcologies ever built by human hands. It was named in the relative likeness of the much older land-based Empire state building, which was the tallest building in the world at the time of its completion – which was an honor enjoyed by the spire as well.

The end war however broke much of its support, so it has since sunken deep into the seafloor off the coast, with a dangerous tilt towards the remains of New York itself. Give it a couple of additional centuries, and it would likely make its final fall and smash itself and the city asunder.

Which is why the dig site's important, to salvage everything possible.

Soki just happened to work in the arcology's sub-levels. Now a twisted maze in the wake of the devastation that ruined the spire's supporting structures. It was an extremely tedious and dirty job to dredge the place. Removing junk, clearing away mud and dirt, and draining water as they went – inch by inch, while boarding up and sealing every hole along the way. Like trying to plug a collapsed and acutely leaking jar from the inside.

There was no easy way to go about it. Especially without the machines such work usually required – which dôjidom generally lacked.

And that's where he worked, thinking the war wouldn't come here... when it happened:

* * *

_Nine hours ago..._

"Easy now!" their foreman – Ido - called out.

Soki along with twenty others carried the huge crate, filled with tons of mud – with slow deliberate steps – while the overseer herded them to the destination. He couldn't see a thing other than the crate itself and tried the best he could to follow those who had a better line of sight, almost tripping on the edge of the makeshift lift when it came. Eliciting a few cautious shouts from those next to him.

"A little more to the left... there, put it down – clear out – and right back to work."

The dôji let out a gasp as he bent his knees and put the thing down alongside his colleagues and stepped off the lift just in time to see it get pulled up to the crews upstairs taking it from there. The lift itself was actually little more than one of the floors that were cut open to produce the shaft above, with wires attached going all the way up to the pulley at the top.

Wonderfully old-fashioned methods.

But Soki did not have the time to enjoy the view and hurried to catch up with the rest. Digging his claws into the wall of dirt they needed to clear away while others brought a new crate for them to fill up. His diligent digging continuing until his palm encountered a large rock – which he immediately grabbed hold of and jerked out, along with almost thirty kilos of dirt he accidentally pressed against his chest while doing so.

This was not enough to make him do anything other than sigh. Nothing unusual about it in this line of work.

He quickly carried it all to the crate and dumped the pile into it, brushing off what he could with a few swiped across his shirt before going back.

"Hey, Soki."

The worker halted in his tracks, a smile upon his lips as he turned to regard Chrysta – his heart's heart in this filthy place. Unlike himself, Chrysta's a com dôji and thus did not need to do the same work. Primarily functioning as link to those further up. The spire's several thousand floors tall, so having communications' specialists are essential, "H-hey, what's up?"

"Just checking." Chrysta almost melodiously stated, "-to see if you're alright."

"Gee, you don't have to worry." Soki part-boasted, "How long have we known one another?"

"Six years." the other raised his shoulders in amusement, "You just have a thing for telling people how weak you are."

"Oi, I just don't want to be sent out there to fight, that's all." Soki wasn't afraid of admitting it. He's a coward to a point, preferring to stay out of the way and work where the only opponents are environmental hazards – no matter how dirty it gets.

"Hey, lovebird!" a coworker of his called out to him, "Get over here and help us out!"

Soki blushed deeply, throwing a glare at the others.. and blinked at how crowded the position had gotten.

The sight earned a suggestion from Chrysta, "Hurry now, could be the find of the century waiting for you guys."

"Oh come on." Soki laughed it off and ran to join his team as they all made a concentrated effort at a single location. _Can't be different from what we've already seen.._

He had no idea how wrong he was.

The group had hit a hardened layer of mud underneath all the dirt.. with strange mechanical warmth coming from the other side.

Soki and a few others punched repeatedly against this layer before peeling it away once enough cracks had appeared. What they found astounded them. The leadership expected there to be some kind of corridor here that will allow them access deeper into the ruin. But instead they found an armored freight door, a huge one... and miraculously well-preserved.

Almost frenzied by the discovery, they ripped away all the mud that was in the way to reveal the door fully before attempting to open it.

Like the case with the lift.. the opening was shockingly old-fashioned. Simply put, groups of dôji lined up on the sides to drag it open while a few in the middle cut through the lock. The lock itself gave away after a concentrated effort, but the door proved to be a hard nut to break anyway. Even with forty additional workers joining them, they only succeeded in creating a gap a couple of inches wide.

"Halt." the foreman called out, looking over the entrance from his vantage point, "We need specialized work for this one."

One thought was to simply blast the door open, but protocols are clear; don't do anything that might damage potentially valuable artifacts.

Instead, Ido went close to the gap and flashed a light through it.. trying to see what's inside.

"What do you see?" Soki asked, everyone in the area gathering around the foreman in anticipation.

The foreman let out an articulate hum, "The other side's clean. Can't see much else.. but there's some kind of statue in there, a big one."

Soki dared to venture close up behind Ido and peered in along with a few others. Indeed, a statue loomed over them on the other side. But it was too far away for them to see specific details about it.

Ido pushed them aside as he eventually left the door for the rest to peer through, "Chrysta, tell the brass we've made a discovery!"

The com specialist beamed, "Already on it, sir. Usok's sending his congratulations. You may all take a break till the specialists get here."

Hollers and cheers echoed across the chamber as everybody reacted in the positive, unknowing that by opening the newly found chamber, they accidentally brought down the only thing that kept it hidden for so long. Setting a terrible series of events in motion.

* * *

_Six hours later..._

"Strange, I thought the team's supposed to be here by now." Ido muttered, his eyes on the ceiling. Most of the others however were more than happy to enjoy a prolonged break – scattered throughout the place, alone or in groups.

Soki himself particularly enjoyed the wait, as he went to the supply crate and secured a pair of food-packs before heading to where Chrysta sat. He had until now been held back by games held by his work-group in celebration, and only now found himself able to approach the com dôji of his dreams. "Think fast." he announced his presence and tossed over one of the food packs.

Said dôji looked up and caught the pack with a cute yelp, "Wha-?! You just took food outside scheduled mealtime again!"

Laughing over the comment, Soki hurried to sit down next to him, "Hey, don't say that out loudly. Just thought you might want some grub. That's all."

"You rascal." Chrysta giggled lowly at his mischievousness, though it sounded a little forced.

"What's the matter? Did someone say something you did not like? Just tell me who it was and—"

"N-no, nothing like that. It's just..."

"Huh?"

"I... I've not heard from most of my colleagues."

"Maybe they're asleep?"

Chrysta shook his head restlessly, "No. Sleep wouldn't block our Engrave... It's more like... they're not even there at all."

"Not there?" Ido almost barked the question as he happened to pass the two, "Soki, we'll talk about you taking liberties with our foodstuff later. Chrysta, clarify."

"Um, I don't know. It's like when you're trying to call someone who've just turned off his communicator. No connection at all."

"Hm, could be serious." Ido looked as if he was about to ask whether or not something might be blocking it, but that made no sense after years of zero difficulty in that department. To such a problem however, there are no easy answers. "I'll see if anyone's up for checking things out." he finally said before leaving the two.

"Y-yes, thank you."

"I'll do it." Soki proclaimed as he stood up, "I-"

"Don't." Chrysta said to him with great concern, "Stay here, please. I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

The laborer cooled down like he had been tossed into the ocean outside, taken aback by his friend's shaking voice, and quickly crouched down to look eye to eye. "Okay, I'll stay. Just relax, I'll protect you." he might be a coward, and often touts of himself as weak.. But as the saying goes; 'A man only need to fight once in his life'. In that case, protecting Chrysta definitely qualified.

Chrysta managed a smile at the grandiose gesture, "Don't make a promise.. if you don't know if you can keep it."

And as the two shared their moment, another worker far away was resting.. almost asleep when a tiny rumble could be felt. Not much, and whatever caused it was very _very_ far away. The dôji shrugged it off as a non-issue and went to sleep. He had no idea that, with that rumble, another of Chrysta's colleagues vanished off the net.

* * *

_Five minutes ago..._

The chamber before the newly excavated find was steadily filling up with noise of uncertainty and confusion. Ido sent someone out to see if something's going on upstairs a couple of hours before.. only to eventually see many dôji come down from other positions to see them for the same reason.

Soki marveled at the sight of the growing crowd, arguing amongst themselves about whatever is happening. All of the 'representatives' of the closest dig sites to this one reporting about the very same problem; their com dôji had gone missing. The only known ones still remaining being Chrysta and the one in the position atop the shaft.

"I've already told you.." Chrysta stressed for the umpteenth time, as he was yet again surrounded by visitors from upstairs, "I've got no contact with HQ at all."

"So what is it then? Have your Engrave abilities faded, but are too scared to admit it?"

"That's not fair!" Soki stepped in to his heart's heart's defense, "Haven't you considered other possibilities? I mean, what if the kurozu-?"

"Them? No, we got wards in place to prevent detection. The only way they'll know of our presence is if they stumbled across us by chance. You should know that much."

Ido stepped in before it could get any worse, "Silence, all of you!"

His voice carried across the chamber and silenced the ongoing arguments, all eyes landing squarely on the angered foreman as he regarded them all sternly, "This bickering is pointless! Here's what we're going to do, and that is that!"

The assembled dôji looked to one another, as if someone would bother to offer a second opinion against such a display.

"Soki, thank you." Chrysta whispered with feeling to his comrade.

The tone of gratitude earned a reassuring and partially victorious smile from him, "Said I would protect you."

"So you did."

"This is what we're going to do." Ido stated with sufficient strength to make it clear that all deviations from the plan he was going to provide are completely unacceptable, "We're going to go up – all of us. We'll gather everyone from every site we come across, until we arrive at the HQ – and get to the bottom of this. Is that understood?"

"Aye." many answered in unison, while others simply nodded.

"Good." Ido stated firmly, "First, we'll-" but was prevented from continuing as the chamber shook in response to the landing of something huge upstairs, followed by distant fighting, shrieks and shouts before this certain something started descending through the shaft, drastically expanding it in the process, "Get back, back! And prepare for battle!"

The whole crowd backed away from the area underneath the shaft as one, more than a hundred in total. Their attention now focused on whatever danger is facing them. But what did appear, sent a shiver through their very being.

What came crashing down was none other than a Deus ex Machina. This one shaped like a stylistic Knight, its primary weapon being an elongated lance. An almost comical design compared to the rest seen so far in the war. But that viewpoint ended quickly as more than a few gasped in horror at the sight of a dozen skewered dôji hanging lifelessly across the length of the machine's weapon. Carried about like a bunch of grotesque trophies. The latest addition on the stack still twitching – if only for a moment before he too fell limp.

Chrysta trembled in fright, recognizing every one of the skewered ones. All of her colleagues she had lost contact with. A similar realization was starting to dawn on the rest as well as many began to mutter in anger and disgust. Yet the monster did not seem to consider any of the robots present as worthy of attention... except the spire's only remaining com dôji – and was practically broadcasting its intentions with every move.

Before most of them could act on that knowledge though, the kurozu bolted forward, spinning around mid-step as it brought the lance into play, using the one-time spin to increased the incoming blow's momentum.

The only one close enough to act, was Soki himself.. one of the only ones – almost by coincidence – to be between the enemy and his beloved. "Chrysta, run!" he yelled, but he and the others nearby acted too late. The tip of the lance blew past them and pierced clean through the fearful com dôji's abdomen. Only saved by the surface behind him as the lance pressed him against it before it could get far enough through to seriously threaten his core sphere.

And that surface just happened to be part of the recently excavated door.

The Deus ex Machina emitted a mechanical snort, and retracted the lance, allowing the heavily damaged Chrysta to fall with a cold whimper.

But before he hit the floor, Soki rushed in and caught him, cradling the damaged friend in his arms, "Chrysta!" he nearly shouted, his voice strained by raw terror as his eyes momentarily rested on that huge hole from the blow that nearly cut him in half.

"S-Soki..." Chrysta replied weakly, curling up in the other one's embrace from the agony wracking his body.

It wasn't over yet though. The enemy machine raised its lance, about to attack again.

Before it could though, a piercing wail echoed throughout the spire as what was left of its broadcast system was brought online, presumably by those upstairs at what's left of the control room. An act that would render the aforementioned wards useless, "Attention, this is Usok speaking." the leader of everyone working here in this spire coughed, with sounds of intense battle going on in the background, "We've been compromised. The kurozu has discovered how to identify com dôji from the rest of us, and are attacking in full force. This is a priority order for any com dôji still alive! Contact Western dome through Channel Roku-9, and request for reinforcements – now!"

The damaged Chrysta did not hesitate to respond; "A-acknowledged.." even though Usok could not possibly hear him.

"Cease." the kurozu barked darkly as it thrust the lance at the two, aiming to kill them before Chrysta could send the call for aid, only for the weapon's tip to strike and scrape across the floor as Ido rose to the occasion and struck the weapon down with his King-mallet henge.

"Not if I can help it." the foreman cried out, "Attack!"

The force of the order combined with Ido's intervention finally snapped the assembled robots out of their momentary stupor, now fielding a dazzling array of arm-cannon henges – showering the hated foe with all the gunfire they could offer, though all the hits no matter how plentiful only amounted to scorching its armor. Realizing that firearms are useless against this one, they all fielded melee weaponry and tried to close in.

Even with their numbers, this would only stall it for a short time. Soki holding his beloved tightly as he turned his back to the enemy, using his own body as a shield.

"It is... done." Chrysta announced quietly. Not even batting an eyelash as he looked over Soki's shoulder at the Deus ex Machina as it slapped Ido out of the way and rushed the two. Instead of feeling fear, knowing that the next blow would kill them both.. he calmly regarded Soki with great warmth, "Thank you... for everything."

Soki nodded, feeling strangely calm as the enemy's massive lance bore down on them. "I... l-"

But at that moment, a huge pike-like weapon struck through the door's gap and and struck the Deus ex Machina's chest, stopping the attack dead in its tracks, the lance crashing to the floor as it was sent stumbling away from the blow that had just been dealt by whatever was on the other side of the door – as if awakened by its proximity.

To the amazement of those present, a large figure made its appearance at last, crumpling the previously unyielding door – that dozens of lesser dôji couldn't even budge, and the kurozu's lance couldn't pierce – like tinfoil. A hunched over bipedal machine that stood at fifteen feet tall at least, more if it actually cared to stand fully erect. It appeared like a mechanical Samurai built in the vague image of a frog. With grandiose spaulders emblazoned with mitsudomoes, and a single word: Undertaker.

The two by its feet stared up at it in awe. On the far side of the room, Ido stumbled back on his feet, and stared at the newly awakened machine.. unable to believe his own optics, "C-can't believe it.. An actual... Taisho class... Frogfoot."

The Deus ex Machina however was not intimidated, instead reacting with apprehension, like the newcomer was a spot it had missed during an earlier cleanup. Jerking itself off the blade at the end of the Frogfoot's 'Yari' and retrieved the lance, "Bootlicker of humankind." it growled, "Go back to the ashes of history!"

The Undertaker responded to the curse with calm that barely kept its inner fury at bay. Cooped up by what might have been centuries of containment. Its voice booming across the chamber, "Hmzt. Fight, cur devoid of honor – for all the good it will do. Your time is now!"

And so, a duel between a Black Knight, and a Silver Samurai commenced.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Developments**

* * *

_Location: _Central dome; The Core.

What a bore.

Vice sat on his side of the platform with half-open eyes, on nodding terms with sleep. His gaze resting on the two others as they diligently continued their work. This time it was about the Western dome – which is the youngest of the dôji habitats. The issue was population number, so his colleagues are approving an ad campaign of sorts – to motivate people in the more crowded domes to move thereto.

At the moment though, he did not care about throwing in input of his own.

It's been years since last time he's been on the field.. How he desired to get some hands-on work done, cracking open kurozu – show the young ones how to do it.

He was just about ready to take a nap when someone entered the chamber with a sense of urgency. A grin crossing his lips once he realized who it is; "Now, look what the cat dragged in."

In came the aspect of Envy, Jealousy. Looking troubled, though it was clearly mixed with exasperation.

Ultimo looked up from the interface hovering before him as well, "My, not often we see you come on your own accord... What's the matter?"

Jealousy halted his approach just twenty feet from the platform, "... I was just about to transfer over to the Western dome when I heard the news."

"What news?" Milieu inquired sternly.

"The dig sites in the Empire state spire just came under heavy attack."

Surprise was evident. "Can't be. They've gone undetected for so long... why now?"

"It gets worse.." Jealousy groaned, quite hesitant to bring up the bombshell about this.. "Our enemies have found a way to tell com dôji apart from the rest."

Milieu snapped his fan shut with enough force it make it sound like the crack of a whip, his ever-present calm damaged by a grimace, "You said _what_?! Impossible.."

Ultimo and Vice exchanged glances before the latter spoke up, "Is this true?"

"There's a Deus ex Machina running around over there – assassinating com dôji. An SOS came from the only one left alive. Usok picked up on the danger just in time, but had to use the spire's broadcast system." Jealousy shook his head, "Don't want to believe it either, but it's a fact."

It was unbelievable. Unless registered, it was impossible for other dôji to guess what Noh-based abilities others got – unless one took time to examine their 'bloodline' thoroughly. And then, all of a sudden, their archenemy had found a way.

Vice narrowed his eyes. Though it's pretty morbid, he saw a chance for some field action; "Then we've got a siege-breaking effort ahead of us. Jealousy, gather all that are available for immediate action."

"My subordinates are already on it, sir." Jealousy noted, "Should be ready soon."

"And if the rest of you don't mind, I'll lead the effort in person."

"Feel free, but pray be swift." Milieu said, regaining his mental footing.

"Likewise." Ultimo agreed, "But just one thought, should we perhaps offer the organics a chance to tag along?"

"Tali and Liara are busy. But I guess we could ask those turians."

"Sure, whatever." Vice shrugged, "Ask 'em. But they'll need to get their asses – or whatever – into gear. 'cause we're talking minutes." and turned to Jealousy, "Now, let's go."

"Of course." the minor aspect replied with an even more nonchalant shrug.

It was just another battle in a seemingly endless war, despite this one's importance. Anyway, he was planning to make the most of this.

* * *

_Fifteen minutes later..._

_Location_: Midtown Manhattan – New York City.

Times Square was ruined like the rest of this decrepit world. But the streets pulsed with light and life once again, if only for a short time, as spatial orbs appeared throughout the West 42nd, and all the way up to West 47th street. Though these were followed by masses of orbs across half the city in turn.

From them, thousands of dôji started to materialize, several regiments worth of reinforcements from both the Western and Central domes. Hastily mobilized and organized.

Vice himself made his appearance atop one of the unbroken buildings in the area, flanked by Jealousy and his personal com dôji – the latter whom he addressed almost immediately as he gazed upon the growing horde below; "Begin the advance! But everyone must keep to the ground for now until we know more about the scale of the opposition. If any enemy forces are encountered along the way, destroy them immediately."

"Sir." the minor dôji replied with a low bow, immediately sending the order to the forces below.. which after a few moments began to march towards the coast. Through open streets, alleys and across the ceilings of lower buildings.

"Jealousy, you'll be with the 3rd regiment. Keep an eye on the birds."

"Heard the more hostile ones are among them, what to do if they start acting up?"

"Do I need to fucking spell it out for you?" Vice growled menacingly, "If those birds can't serve on the front-lines in an orderly manner, or put our soldiers in danger needlessly – they'll be lining your regiment's processing-chambers instead."

Jealousy believed that to be just a joke.. Well, almost. The turians, or Nihlus and Saren to be more exact are looked down on by quite a few for their hostility, and tendency of treating dôji like objects or monsters like the kurozu. For now, he decided to humor his superior, and responded with a curt; "Yes." before taking off, heading in the direction of West 45th street to rendezvous with his regiment. Leaving his superior to continue handing out orders.

Vice turned to his com dôji, Jin, and regarded him with dangerous calm. His fierce visage making the subordinate bow even lower, "Have the new regulations been fully implemented? Has every com dôji down there gotten their personal escorts?"

He wasn't being kind. It's basic pragmatism. Can't let the enemy kill off those in charge of communications, or else the whole army would fall apart. Especially if the kurozu truly _had_ found a way to detect them specifically.

The subordinate nodded meekly, "It's been done, sir."

"Excellent. Then to the forward line I go.." Vice responded and dropped himself off the building, flying to the very front of the army. That's where he belonged: In the fight. Going so fast his personal com dôji struggled to keep up with him.

And every minute, the army drew closer to the coast.. and by extension the Empire state spire that loomed over the city.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

_Location_: West 45th street, Manhattan, New York City.

"I'm surprised you decided to tag along." Garrus said, leaning into his seat within the APC which the synthetics provided for him and the others. The vehicle hovering a bare five inches above the various wreckage filling the streets – on the ground below, and all around, dôji swarmed forward like an onrushing army. Mustering a running pace matching the speed of their vehicle.

The vehicle's controls wasn't all too different from shuttles he was familiar with. In the seat next to him sat a single synthetic, who served as his co-pilot. The basics he could handle just fine, other things he left to the other.

He tossed a glance to those sitting in the back, addressing both Saren and Nihlus.

"Better than getting dressed up." the elder spectre growled, relieved to have been given some proper armor.

Nihlus chuckled at his colleague and former teacher's expense.. though without any harmful intent; "Indeed. You should have seen his face when Service gave him the choice; the moogle-outfit or the purple dinosaur-outfit."

"Purple dinosaur?" Garrus tilted his head forward, wondering if he had heard correctly.

"Indeed. Supposedly, it's based on an ancient legend where creature like that spread joy among the kids... and terror amongst adults. Evidently, there's a certain reality to it.. Saren choose the moogle without a second thought. As if it called to him." Nihlus added that last part like he was telling a ghost story, with a hushed tone.

Saren felt his reputation get more tarnished by the second, "Shut up. I don't want to hear of it any longer!"

"No promises, big guy."

Garrus guffawed, "Don't worry, my mandibles are sealed. Won't tell anyone.."

Saren did not look particularly reassured. Instead, he looked up from the floor.. "Garrus, we need to talk."

"What about?"

"Spectre meeting. Can you ask that _thing_ to give us some privacy?"

The spectre candidate grimaced, and looked to the co-pilot.. who wasn't quite pleased with being referred to as an object, "I'm sorry... but could you...?" he simply inquired.

Slowly, the dôji nodded. "Sure, I'll keep the crate flying for you."

Vehicle controls started moving on their own as the synthetic took over – allowing the turian to leave his seat and head into the back. A wall sliding into place in his wake to create a barrier. Presumably for the sake of the privacy Saren wanted.

Garrus sat down next to Nihlus and addressed the elder spectre; "So, what is the problem?"

"Our current situation." Nihlus stated, "Personally, I've begun to view our... hosts, more sympathetically. But we should all be careful not to become enamored with the dôji, in case of worst case scenario. _And_ the simple truth that we are prisoners on this planet.."

"I understand, but with all due respect – they've got a solid reason to."

Saren glowered at the spectre candidate, "Listen, right now your career is hanging by a thread. Supporting a synthetic species openly will only hurt you in the future. You'll be seen and treated like an outcast, much like the vagrant quarians."

Garrus swallowed, though no nervousness was involved. His gaze dropping to the floor as he answered, "I know, but someone needs to. The kurozu is not something we can overlook... the things we saw in the Gobi factory. It's a nightmare. If we are going to find out as much as possible about them, and stand a chance of defeating them... I believe we need the dôji on our side."

Both spectres gave a silent sigh, Nihlus placed a hand on Garrus' shoulder, "Tell us.. what did you see down there? Specifically, things we should know about."

"You sure you want to know?" he asked warily.

"Tell us."

The space within the APC turned silent as the younger turian among them gathered his thoughts.. It looked as though the memories of the place physically hurt him. "Okay, first of.. the interior of a factory. It's obscene. If there are places in all of the universe where reality and the underworld itself overlap.. it exists within the bowels of kurozu factories. The interior is a maze, and hostile to all life as we know it. Extreme cold, and suffocating heat. With shapes and machines that defy description."

"Truly monstrous then?"

"It goes so far beyond that you can't believe it. Demons pales in comparison. And that's without even delving in what they did to the _Uncovering sight's_ crew."

"Dead, of course?" Saren asked.

"More than that. They put machines into their corpses, turning them into... I might as well call them mindless undead. Even the ship's VI had gone insane.. blabbering obscenities like a doomsayer."

"How can that be? VI only exist to assist users and process information."

"They must have upgraded it into a fully-fledged AI." Nihlus speculated, his mandibles twitching repeatedly at what little the candidate had told them so far, "Be calm, Garrus. You're not down there anymore.."

"Yes, I know.. In retrospect, I should of accepted Regula's offer."

"Don't say that. As I've always told you; don't forget. Your past experiences prepares you for the future." Saren lectured him like an honest-to-spirit elder. Showing he does possess wisdom under all of his ruthlessness. "Conquer your fear, but never cast it aside. One conquered by fear is but a coward. One without any fear is even worse; an idiot that is going to get himself killed uselessly."

Nihlus chuckled, "Now that's experience speaking."

Garrus exhaled in a fashion that might as well had been a desperate laugh, "Thank you for that."

"My apologies for making you bring that up."

"No worries, you needed to know."

"Won't change our plans though." Saren noted.

Garrus exhaled slowly, closing his eyes tiredly; "And what _is _the plan?"

"It contains three separate steps. One, which we're already doing; gather all the information we can – about both synthetic species. Second, secure as much advanced technology as possible and bring it back to the hierarchy – which shouldn't be too hard, considering how willing they are to provide both armor and weaponry for us. Third; to locate our shuttle – so we may get out fast if needed."

"Sounds decent enough." the candidate replied with noticeable surprise, "Thought the plan would be more severe than that.."

"It used to be.." Nihlus hinted with a wry smile, "I _really_ had to _haggle_ it down to size."

"Huh, really?" now _that_ was a surprise.

"Yeah. During our... community service... there were dôji less than nice to us for our earlier decision."

"What did they do?"

"They did not do anything to us physically, and that Regula fellow was quick enough to shoo them away."

"What did they _say _then?" Garrus cocked his head in faint irritation, "Quit stalling.."

Nihlus did seem very uncomfortable, "Well..."

Before he could say it though, the rear-hatch was opened from the outside – by Jealousy, who had come to check up on them, "Hey, having fun?" the dôji proceeded to ask, though he did not sound all too amused.

"Yeah, tons."

"Nice. Now don't do anything crazy.. we'll be at the spire's outer perimeter within the hour. So we have no time for delays. Any flops or disturbances from you..." his eyes on Nihlus and Saren specifically, "...and I know at least a hundred dôji who will find the answer to one of the big questions of the present." the aspect finished what he had come to say with a shrug, and closed the hatch again, "That is all. Good luck."

"Er..." Garrus raised an invisible eyebrow at Nihlus, who had suddenly gone ghostly pale, "What was that?"

"The things said by those I mentioned: 'So, if turians are birds.. do they taste like chicken?'" the spectre shook his head, "Might had been an attempt to intimidate us, _and_ it's _working_, now even _more_ so. That is why I wanted our plan to be more.. moderate – don't want to see how far they're willing to go with it."

Saren snorted a faint; "Coward.." at that.

"I see." Garrus replied, nodding in understanding, "Then all you need, is to do this right. As for me, I better get back on the seat. Unless there is anything more?"

"That was all, go."

"Then, if you excuse me." the candidate groaned as he got up and motioned to the barrier, knocking a finger against it to signal that the meeting's over.. the co-pilot responded immediately by opening it.

"Done now?" the dôji asked.

"Yeah." he said, sounding quite relieved as he eased himself back in the driver's seat, "Did anything happen?"

"No, all quiet on this end."

"Where is the spire by the way? I've been trying to look for it.. But all I can see is that aerial battle in the far distance." he described, his eyes on the bursts of fire and explosions high in the sky, far above them.

His co-pilot peered up at the lights, "That's not an aerial battle. You're looking at the spire."

That got his attention for sure as he blinked repeatedly, "Uh, what?" trying to scan the entirety of the view available to him, but could not see the vaguest hints of the spire's outlines. _It's that big...?_

"It's referred to as a spire.. but the proper term is 'arcology'. Basically, an extremely large habitat that maintain its own ecology, and an extremely high population density. It and others of its kind were built to be self-sufficient. It's no exaggeration that it could easily house billions of organics."

Even the others in the back reacted at this. Garrus him immediately wondered why the _Uncovering sight_ - and they themselves - couldn't see structures like those on approach to the planet. The only logical answer was that the hyperstructures were mistaken for mountains due to their sheer size. None of their kind exists on any known world, so it was an easy mistake to make. Instead, they were looking for cities built in a more conventional sense. "Incredible.." he breathed.

In the back, Saren wrote down mental notes. If there existed any blueprints as to the construction of such structures, he would try to steal it. Believing it would be a major boon for the hierarchy.

But to do that, he needs to survive what's up ahead first.

* * *

_Location_: Empire state spire; Dig site 14.

While the reinforcements advanced, the battles within the arcology continued to rage. The few thousand dôji inside fighting an extensive, but disjointed defense. With communications severed between most, each group was effectively on its own.

But not for too much longer, courtesy of Uzok's decision, and the only remaining com dôji within the gargantuan structure; Chrysta.

The latter dôji lay cradled in Soki's arms, watching in silence along with the rest of their team as the knight-style Deus ex Machina, and an aging Frogfoot by the name of 'Undertaker', fought.

It was a spear-fight by all account. The kurozu wielding a large and heavy lance as its primary means of attack, thrusting and stabbing at its enemy in rushing strikes. 'Undertaker' on the other hand relied on agility, sidestepping the rage-induced charge while attacking with its much slimmer 'Yari' with slashes and rapid thrusts.

In a way, it was like a raging bull and a matador. Except, the enemy wasn't stupid... and used its larger lance to block incoming blows whenever it recovered from a run and prepared for another one – actively trying to force its enemy into a corner..

The frogfoot continued to dodge, leap and generally give ground. Each time accompanied by a huff akin to that of an old man.

"Your cause was lost from the beginning." the kurozu boomed after yet another charge, and moved the lance to parry the subsequent quartet of blows its enemy brought to bear. Failing to pierce the lance, but left deep scratches – trying to break it through accumulative damage dealt with pinpoint accuracy, "Why do you persist?!"

'Undertaker' emitted what sounded like a chuckle, "Hmzt. My lord told me to let none pass but those that bring life."

"There is no point to your task. Nothing here lives, even the dôji shall fall. Stand down, and I will end your futile task in one strike!"

"Hmzt. On my lord's honor, that I cannot do. Even if the whole world breaks apart, even if the universe fall into the abyss, I shall never yield."

The Deus ex Machina roared, dug its heels into the floor and charged once again – leaning its weight against the mighty lance it held before itself.

"I thank you for this exercise though, cur." the frogfoot sidestepped, span around with a raised leg and kicked the tip of the heavy weapon into the floor, bringing the machine to a brutal halt. Then proceeded to stab the thin blade of his 'Yari' through the enemy's now-exposed upper limbs.. severing the hands at the wrist-joints.

A grunt came from the black monstrosity as it jerked away from the blow, staring at the stumps where its claws used to be.

'Undertaker' wasn't finished, and stepped forth, drew the pike out, span, and sliced off the enemy's head in one clean strike. And next took one step back and dealt one final blow to the chest, sending the wrecked Deus ex Machina crashing to the floor, leaving only the frogfoot standing over it. "Hmzt. Vulgar and crude, but you had some spunk after all." it spoke, and gave the fallen enemy a low bow before it turned and went back to where it previously sat.

To all the dôji in the chamber however, it paid no attention.

"Hey, wait." Ido sprang forward, approaching the towering frogfoot, a motion that finally made the old machine acknowledge their presence.

The response was not directly what he expected though, as it raised the 'Yari' and pointed it at the smaller synthetic, "Hmzt. Come no closer, little one."

The foreman stopped, his eyes on the weapon; "Lower your weapon. We are not your enemy!"

"Hmzt. Neither are you my allies."

"Why not? A human created the first of our kind."

"Hmzt. They created the first of all machines."

"Then, why did you help?"

"Hmzt. Protecting my charge. The kurozu cannot be reasoned with. You are a different matter, it appears."

"We are trying to save this world. Trying to destroy the kurozu. But our enemy is a powerful one, as such, we need the might of the frogfoots."

"Hmzt. Noble goal, but I cannot comply."

"Why?"

"Hmzt. My duty is here."

Ido grimaced, a little frustrated. Though frogfoots are mighty, with an unshakable sense of duty, they can be rather stubborn. He realized he cannot do this alone... "Fine. Chrysta!"

"Ah.. y-yes?" the wounded com dôji still resting in Soki's arms responded with a gasp.

"Any word on those reinforcements?"

Chrysta closed his eyes, "They are on their way. But sir, they're apparently being led by Grand Aspect Vice himself."

_One of the Grand Aspects is coming here?!_

'Undertaker' remained where he sat, apparently not paying further attention.

Ido grimaced as he turned to the rest, "Hey, you bunch of bums! Build a barricade – you too, Soki! There are bound to be more enemies on the way!" and watched as the crowd burst into motion to do as ordered.

_Best leave the 'Undertaker' to the Grand Aspect. Until then, we must make sure it does not come to any harm.. _

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

_Location_: Central dome; the Vault.

"Yes dad. No, no, yes.. no! Yes, dad.. no dad. Yes, yes, no, yes." an explosive embarrassed sigh followed, "Please, dad. No. No-no-no. Okay.."

Liara found it unquestionably cute. Listening to Promina exchanging engraves with one of his fathers. Annoyed enough to repeat the messages aloud. Ah, the joys of having a parent who's a com dôji as well – thus able to contact his son from almost absolutely anywhere and anytime.

Still, that little pleasure did not overtake her own excitement by even a fraction. Only listening with a section of her brain, while the rest were collectively focused on what lay all around her. Such a fantastic place; a veritable army of shelves, each containing priceless artifacts.

The only downside was – to prevent any harm – every artifact had been sealed away. To access the information, she needed to access the holographic terminal located at each shelf.

Liara approached the closest one, dodging a passing librarian along the way – one of many in the area - and tried to familiarize herself with the commands. The system was a far-cry from those she was more used to out in the galaxy. All of the information had to be accessed manually.

This one – she discovered – contained detailed information about the history of music. And to complement it, there are also a dazzling collection of songs of all types and genres. Literally trillions available to play. With a smile, she tried to access one of them with great interest. Music tended to play a great part in many cultures after all.

"Oh, you like music too?" a playful voice rang out. A pretty blue-haired dôji approaching the shelf Liara's at. The asari turned and observed as other synthetics stepped aside to clear this dôji's way, a few even bowing.. and came to the assumption that he's an aspect.

"Y-yeah. I'd be surprised if any cultures looked down on it."

"Hoh, I could perhaps name a few." the assumed aspect hummed with a frown that vanished into a wide grin in an instant, "But I won't bore you with that. My name's Service – aspect of Generosity."

"Liara T'Soni. Delighted to make your acquaintance." she introduced herself, "Actually, I'm interested in everything concerning human history."

"Oh?" Service giggled and waved a gauntlet through the air with theatrical grace, "Well, if you need a guide through this humble repository - I'll be more than happy to assist."

"I would love that, actually. My guide's rather... busy at the moment." gesturing at Promina, who was still speaking with his father, and from the sound of it.. the conversation is getting nuttier by the second. The minor dôji's cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

"Hm, I see. Well, this is where all music-related material's kept. I come here often to look for songs to use. There are so many to keep track off, and I happen to enjoy diversity – based on mood of course."

"You sing?" Liara asked curiously. The aspect hadn't mentioned it, but enough was said to pick up where it leads up to.

Service beamed, "Aye. A big part of my duty is to keep the peoples spirits up. My favorite way of doing so, is by singing."

"And you use those that were made by humans?"

"Most of the time, but I compose new ones myself when I can."

Liara looked through some of the songs, finely divided between names, genres and the time they were made, "Which era of music do you prefer?"

"Mm, toughie. Not." he grinned as he scrolled to a specific pair of centuries; "The 20th and 21st century, easy. Both were the birthplace of most existing genres. Love the classics. Besides, music in the latter centuries had a tendency of being rather homogeneous.."

"A reoccurring phenomenon in many cultures." Liara remarked so softly she nearly looked like a fish caught on land.

If Service caught what she said, he showed no sign of it as he browsed through the lists, whispering a low; "That... n' that..." every few seconds, his tone akin to a musical tune.

"So after music, what would you recommend?"

"Well, anything history-related. The war section is also an option. But before we go there, I'd like to give you something."

"What is it?"

"Only if you want of course." Service said, and a series of paper tickets appeared in his left gauntlet, as if he just conjured them with some kind of nifty spell, "Tickets for the next concert, if you and your friends would like to attend."

Liara's eyes widened at the gift, and accepted the tickets – it'd be rude otherwise. "Of course, I'd love to."

"Hey... sorry about that." Promina said as he eventually got around to get back to the alien, only to look like his core sphere jumped into his throat upon seeing Service, "Um, y-yeah.. what did I miss?" he stuttered the question, trying desperately not to look like an idiot in front of the aspect, who just giggled in return.

"Sorry about that, my comrade got a serious case of hormones, if you know what I mean.."

Service giggled, "I get that all the time, so no worries."

"Want one?" Liara handed Promina a ticket.

Said dôji gasped as he accepted it with trembling gauntlets, "For me?"

"You're a friend of mine, of course."

"T-thank you, thank you." the minor dôji bounced with joy.

"Those tickets were meant for you and your fellow organics..." the aspect shrugged, hands on hips; "...but okay."

"Let's check out the places you mentioned then, starting with history."

"Off we go then.." Service whirled around to lead them further into the vault. A place a lot larger than it looks, "Just don't lose your way. An unprepared soul could get lost down here."

* * *

_Twenty-four minutes later..._

_Location_: Northern dome; hospital.

It was yet another busy day filled with wounded to treat. After the Gobi factory battle, many of those who hailed from the Northern dome came back less than whole. So the personnel waiting for them at the hospital had their work cut out for them.

Pardonner almost stumbled into his office after having treated at least five dozen serious cases without a single break in between. That was far from unusual though, and he normally would easily be able to go for more.. but today, he felt rather breathless.

The aspect stopped at his desk, and leaned against it while clutching his chest. Ever since he woke up this morning, he had been aching a little more than usual, with periods of pain. The reason for this minor suffering was obvious though.

_Today... is the day. Arcanite... our child will be born today._

Pardonner lowered his gaze to the bumpy gauntlet of his, feeling it throb weakly. His lips settling into a tiny smile, before a sudden spike of pain shook him to the core, sending the beleaguered aspect to his knees.

For a full minute, he breathed raggedly until the pain started receding slowly, allowing him to stand back up.. until it renewed itself, stronger then before, with such force it made him let out a shrill cry and fell again. His able gauntlet quickly folding over the other, as if to protect his offspring from an unseen foe.

But it was not an attack at all. The agony continuing as his arm throbbed harder, forcing him realize what was happening.

"W-what?! This is too... early."

Pardonner silently pleaded for the pain to stop, it's too early to give birth. He just needed five hours... only five more hours.

It wouldn't sound that early to organic ears, but it's too early to a dôji. Being born several hours too early would result in the baby emerging incomplete, or damaged.

Outside the corner of his vision, Daos entered the office, "Sir, the..." he began, and gasped as he saw the aspect on the floor with such a mask of pain, "Sir, what's the matter? Sir?!"

"Ugh... g-get Sophia for me, please." Pardonner asked, his voice shaking.

The minor dôji rushed to his side, and saw how the aspect was clutching his child-bearing gauntlet... and was quick to head out of the office, shouting down the hallway; "Get a bed here, quickly! Sid, if you're there, send a message to-"

Pardonner was unable to hear any more as he sank fully to the floor. The pain so great he repeatedly lost and regained his consciousness. During which a bed was brought, followed by Daos and several aides lifting him onto it.

He did not know how much time passed after that, but regained control of himself once the pain finally subsided – and realized Sophia was sitting next to the bed, looking over him.

"Feeling better?" the aspect of Wisdom asked, having used his Sense manipulation to remove the anguish.

Pardonner squirmed, "Yes, thank you..." directing his gaze at his gauntlet.. and saw the bulge is still there, much to his relief. "H-how is he?"

"Your son's doing fine." Sophia said, stroking Pardonner's bulky gauntlet, "I believe stress played a big part in that little upheaval there."

"I see." Pardonner breathed, very glad the premature birth was prevented, ".. How long was I out...?"

"No more than an hour."

"Sorry for the trouble."

"Don't be. I'm happy to help." Sophia said, and placed a food-pack on the fellow aspect's chest, "Here, eat up."

Pardonner nodded in appreciation, reaching up to unpack the meal.

"Just one question."

"What is it?"

"Tali, and maybe Liara as well, would like to witness the upcoming birth. Mind if I call them over?"

Pardonner took a big bite out of the pack and chewed it down before answering; "... I don't mind. Just make sure they don't stray too close."

Sophia smiled, "Of course. Have you decided on a name yet?"

"No. Gonna wait till I see him first – in just a few more hours."

* * *

_Location_: Central dome; Storehouse 9-B.

Tali wiped the sweat off her forehead as the work continued. Getting the bridge and reactor back together had proven to be quite a challenge with such an inexperienced crew at her disposal.

But it looks like they're nearly at the end of the tunnel as the dôji crew behind her gradually assembled the circuitry and connected the cables. Building a makeshift bridge between the two vital sections of the ship they needed operational.

With the final series of click, she booted up the reactor, and listened as it hummed to life, purring like a domesticated feline, "Get clear. Don't want any mistakes." she instructed the synthetics.

"Aye aye, mistress." one of them said.

To think the first ones to refer to her as such happened to be non-organics. But she's good with machines after all.

Further away, the wide-opened bridge responded to the power fed to it. Displays and holographic keyboards flickering into view one by one.

Success.

_Now, all I need to do is fix the system, and we'll be live._

_Wonder what the rest have been doing while I'm toiling down here._

Tali entered the bridge, and sat herself down on the captain's seat.

Wiping the corrupted VI from the otherwise empty system was the first thing she did. Watching with an odd sense of satisfaction as the program was taken apart and erased.

Once done, the computer was rendered completely blank. Tali fired up her omni-tool and began to feed necessary data into the system – leading to a drawn-out process of compiling, installing and programming. Tasks which naturally take a bit of time without VI assistance. But with that corrupted thing still fresh in mind, she would rather do without one for the time being.

Gradually, she managed to set up a new OS to take the old ones' place. With the computer more easy to manage now, she rapidly beefed it up with all that's necessary to get the ship's communications back up. Only taking a break when she finally arrived at a point where they can at least receive signals. Some more work would be needed to actually be able to contact someone.

Behind her, the small crew of dôji began to crowd together in a semi-circle around the sitting quarian, looking over her shoulders while nibbling on food-packs they just procured.

Tali tried to ignore the sound of organic matter being chewed and swallowed, still finding it done by synthetics as extremely unnerving. Trying to keep herself occupied by seeing if they're receiving signals of any kind, and got a burst of static blasting away at them. Reacting immediately, she made adjustments and filtered out the noise until the incoming signal became coherent.

...

It was a calm, uniform and official-sounding voice that greeted her. By all indication an asari news anchor – talking about a case of hanar protesters blockading a prothean dig-site. Nothing important, but relieving. If anything war-related happened, it'd have taken priority over some religious nuts.

The synthetics seemed interested though, so she left it on for the time being as she leaned against the seat, satisfied with her progress so far. Intending to take a few minutes-long break before moving on – when a com dôji came to her from across the storehouse; "Mistress Tali, I bear a message from Aspect Sophia."

The quarian exhaled almost tiredly, "What is it?"

"He says Aspect Pardonner will go into labor soon. If you wish to witness it as requested, you need to come to the hospital in the Northern dome as soon as possible."

That's right. She did express an interest to see it earlier – but was hesitant to leave her current job unfinished. In the end though, the particular wish won out and Tali climbed out of the bridge, leaving the organics to listen to the ongoing news. "Okay, I'll be there. Has Liara been notified too?"

"She has."

"Alright. The rest over here can wait till later." her attention turned to the crew; "Don't touch anything while I'm gone. Got it?"

Shouts of "Yes, mistress!" and "Aye, boss-lady." rang out from the bridge in compliance.

Tali turned back to the com dôji, "Where's the closest transport station?"

"I'll take you there. Right this way.."

Acknowledging, the quarian followed him out. Hoping she'll reach the place in time.

* * *

Location: Noveria; Unknown location.

Slow had no idea how long he's been unconscious. But in his waking moments felt like he was hanging from something, with limbs restrained – until said restraints vanished, and let him drop.

The fall was quickly broken however, as he hit what felt like a glass floor – causing him to open his eyes wide with a start, and a ragged cough to explode from his lips.

He remained there for a short moment to collect himself, remembering what he went through before ending up here, wherever 'here' is. The dôji then pushed himself up to look at his surroundings. A relatively small room with crystal-blue matted walls, with a single table located in the middle.

And no sign of Dirge at all.

Worried, he forced himself fully up and approached the closest wall, brought an arm up and struck it, in an attempt to break out. But the wall did not budge, nor crack, nor splinter.

"What's this?"

Slow examined the wall, it looked like glass, felt like glass.. but isn't. He couldn't recognize the alloy. It's either unbelievably strong.. or simply very thick. Its creator either created this specifically to keep him in... or it had already been used for something else in the past. No way to be sure.

He could try to pound the wall, but needed both arms for that, which wasn't easy. Mordin's still inside his left gauntlet – made cocoon – in stasis. Slow had a mind to release him, to free the arm up, but was not sure if this prison got any additional features beyond what he could discern.

The answer came in the form of an electric shook that pulsed through the room. Just a tingle at first, but more followed, each stronger than the last. Gradually becoming more and more painful, like if someone was trying to figure out how much he could take.

It lasted for several minutes as Slow tried to strike the wall again and again as the incessant electric shocks escalated, but soon found it impossible to continue as the voltage raised to a point where he could see the faintest sign of light flickering just beyond the walls.

Then it stopped.

A small pause followed, leaving the aspect to stumble around, clawing at the wall uselessly, before the strongest shock followed – much greater than what came before. Unable to escape, Slow cried out in agony and slid to the floor – losing consciousness before he even hit the floor.

* * *

Location: Noveria; Peak 17; Control room.

"As you can see.." Chief researcher Aneera – head of this remote research facility - said with great interest, ".. this much is required, just to subdue the subject without killing it."

Desolas watched with the rest from the control room as the initial experiment was shown. Displaying the cube-shaped prison situated in the center of one of the facility's many laboratories. Able to see what's happening inside the cube as the electric storm inside ran its course, "It managed to survive planetary bombardment, and look at it now. Fixed itself on the way here. I am not surprised it require this much."

"We had to use the power grid for the entire sector, Desolas. It's going to be really difficult to hide this from the executive board. Nevertheless, me and my team's grateful. These synthetics are amazing."

Another screen displayed what was going on in a different lab. The other live dôji they managed to capture could be seen strapped to a table, surrounded by guards and a single Vurtok. Scientists closing in on the synthetic with cutting tools, about to dissect it, whilst it – visibly distraught – desperately tried to free itself from what was coming.

"Just keep me appraised of all your team's progress, Aneera." he coldly told the fellow turian, unaffected by the ongoing struggle – and the tortured scream that followed.

Outside, the convoy carrying everything else they took from their most recent battlefield continued to move in. Crews working hard to unload all the technology and machinery into various storage chambers.

And unbeknownst to everyone. Within one of the largely broken machines, a tiny red light flickered on with a faint foreboding rumble.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The approach**

* * *

_One hour later..._

_Location_: Empire state spire, dig site 14.

"_Com Specialist Chrysta, are you still there?_"

Chrysta woke up with a start, and barely managed to keep a cry from escaping his lips as pain wracked him anew. A terrible reminder of his injuries. They were so severe his comrades elected to amputate his entire lower body and let his innate self-repair functions build a new one from the waist and down.

He flailed momentarily until a strong grip wrapped around his right hand.. and found Soki leaning over him – deeply worried, mouth open... yet no words came.

Such a worrywart, Chrysta couldn't be mad at him at all. Had he been sitting here all this time? Even with the pain, he blushed at such protectiveness; "I'm fine.. don't worry. Just, was it you who...?"

The mud-covered worker blinked confusedly, "Huh?"

"Never mind." he whispered, scanning the rest of the chamber: Dio was leading the others in the effort to build up a defensible barricade, not the easiest thing in the world with so much mismatched pieces of scrap. The Undertaker still 'sat' on its throne – watching all the dôji workers hurry back and forth with materials like busy ants. Even the knight-shaped Deus ex Machina had been scavenged to pieces, "Silly me..."

Chrysta felt like mentally slapping himself for mistaking an Engrave for verbal communications – closed his eyes and responded to whoever was trying to contact him; "_This is Com Specialist Chrysta, reporting from dig site 14. Accounted for._"

"_Finally. We need to know of the status within the spire._"

He managed to identify the one he's speaking with after a moment: Jin; Grand Aspect Vice's favorite com dôji. Practically his chief assistant, if only because of his meekness outside engraves. "_I... can't speak for anyone but those here with me. We got no idea of how the other dig sites are faring against the enemy.. but the kurozu haven't attacked us yet beyond the Deus ex Machina that attempted to assassinate me. My personal guess is... they're going to clear the rest of the spire, and then gang up on us._"

It took a while for Jin to respond, almost the equivalent of a stunned silence; "_... Why is that?_"

"_We found something down here... something big. It's a Frogfoot, Taisho class. Named Undertaker apparently. It's the reason we're still alive._"

"_Truly?_" Jin engraved in return after another pause, "_After all these years, you've found one?_"

"_It's fully functional and active. But it's guarding something.. and won't let us move past it. After seeing what it did to my would-be assassin, no one's about to try._"

"_That explains it._"

"_How close are you guys?_"

"_We're nearly at the spire, hold fast._"

"_We'll do that, thank you._"

The exchange ended there, allowing relief to overwhelm his pain. Managing a tearful smile while squeezing Soki's comforting hand, "We're going to make it.." he told the worker.

"Of course we will." Soki's grip became even tighter, as if afraid to lose him. Probably misinterpreting the tears completely.

_Such an awkward dôji.. _Chrysta thought warmly, _but I wouldn't trade you away for anything in the world. _"It's not what you're thinking, you worrywart. Go to Dio, tell him that help will get here soon. Very soon."

* * *

_Location_: New York City, Queens, above the sea – south of Rockaway Peninsula - final approach on Empire State Spire.

Nihlus whistled with a bit of strain as he came to the front of the APC, looking out through the canopy – observing the swarm outside. Thousands of synthetics flying all around them, split up into individual squads of five and six – each maintaining a perfect delta formation. Each group very evenly spread out.

In any other situation, it would have made for an excellent parade.

"How fast are we going right now?" he asked instead of all the other questions available to him.

Garrus' co-pilot – Tarras – turned his head to answer, "We are currently maintaining a speed of six-hundred kilometers per hour – just like everyone else. Once we get the order, will bump it up to nine-hundred. We're aiming to get inside the structure before the kurozu counter our approach in full force."

"Is it wise to just rush in like that?"

"Just wait and see for yourself. Ideally though, the best choice of a battlefield here, is the interior of the arcology itself. The shorter time it takes to get in there, the better."

Nihlus frowned, and cast a glance over his shoulder to Saren – still checking his hybrid of a rifle, as if trying to commit every detail of it to memory, "So, when do we-"

"Hold it." Tarras interrupted him tersely, looking like he's trying to listen to something, before he burst out with a clear-voiced; "Enemy contact!"

This announcement was accompanied by hefty amounts of incoming fire as an enormous amount of searing red lights passed into the formation along with an equally large amount of black orbs with numerous blinking lights, each which detonated with great force – though the latter only inflicted a few losses as squadrons skillfully evaded the orbs, though a few were forced to split into even smaller groups.

Tarras' hands danced across the console in front of him as the situation intensified, "General order just came in: Attack is a go, I repeat; attack is a go!"

"Alright!" Garrus replied, tightening his grip on the controls and narrowed his eyes in pure focus as he fed more power to the craft's engines.

Despite the danger of being blown out of the sky, Nihlus felt a strange sense of fascination as he watched the entire formation pick up speed, while evading fire as much as they returned it – explosions ripping through sections of the megastructure's outer wall as the lances of sharp blue energy and missiles launched by the massed dôji converged on enemy positions, disintegrating anything not moving away in time as the massed fire turned the affected area into miniature neutron stars for split moments.

The spectre was careful not to be taken away by the thrill that was creeping upon him, tore his gaze from the sight... and hurried back to Saren, picking his own weapons up along the way, including the sword given to him back at the armory – a Makhaira they called it. It seemed strange to covet such weapons in this day and age, but he guessed it's better to have... than to be without it. Might come in handy.. His old combat knife wouldn't even damage a squid's paint job. He slid it into the holster mounted on the lower back of his armor before addressing his mentor; "Saren, our LZ is going to be crazy."

"Naturally." Saren muttered, his expression did not even budge as the craft suddenly lurched to the side, before an explosion went off not far from its left side. A quick reaction from Garrus was probably the only reason they were still alive, "But first.. we need to survive the approach. Steel yourself."

"Right..." Nihlus swallowed. _Yeah... easier said than done. All we can do, is to trust our pilot._

* * *

It's a serious situation, yet Vice felt most giddy; _Oh, how I've longed for a real battle after so many years sitting in that chamber..._

He had already left Jin behind – though with a couple of newly assigned bodyguards – and raced forth to the formation's leading edge, aiming to take on the brunt of it when the kurozu recover from the counter-barrage. And the machines did so very quickly, as they usually do. Swarms of squids punched out of the holes in the structure, many clustering together to form those giant snake-like masses – powerful enough to be a low-class Deus ex Machine in their own right. Three of those formations noticed his approach, and converged on him, one after the other.

Hell, the airspace around him was starting to become a hell of a lot narrower after his detection. The focus shifting away from all the onrushing minor dôji behind, and onto him.

Vice didn't mind it at all, grinning in joy as he rushed for the closest enemy formation, "Karakuri henge-" his left arm rapidly reconfiguring itself into a great blade which handle resembled that of a stylized turtle's head, its overly extended lower jaw serving as the blade itself, long and covered in teeths; "-Turtle saw!"

He evaded the business end of the snake-formation and zigzagged across its form, while slicing it to bits - much like one would a loaf of bread - like a warm knife through butter. Counting every kill he could, successfully slaughtering several hundred, reducing an otherwise powerful form into a smattering of groups that would be easy prey for those following in his wake.

But it was not nearly enough, he performed a similar motion with the next one.. but with a horizontal slash, in which he sliced through the entirety of the assembled snake – splitting it cleanly in half.

"This all you got?" he shouted at the third one, which continued to close in – unfazed by how easily he dispatched those before it. "Don't get cocky, you flying fucks.." the grand aspect continued and raised right arm, "Karakuri henge-" the arm transforming into what resembled an antique angular percussion instrument, "- Demon drum!"

He triggered the weapon immediately, and unleashed a cascade of hypersonic sound waves. The snake did not stand a chance as it was instantly pulverized, along with thousands of machines behind it within the weapon's cone-shaped area of effect, and caved in a large five-kilometer wide section of the megastructure, and blew away anything not sufficiently nailed down within several hundred meters of the outer wall – wiping out a significant portion of the hastily organized defense, leaving a huge gap for his soldiers to pour in through.

Vice remained in position, admiring the damage he caused in one fell swoop while his army cleaned up what remained of the opposition's welcome party.

Jealousy approached him soon after, "Nice hit, looks like years of governing hasn't dulled your edge."

"Shit. I could have done so much more damage, but I'd get the others on my bearings. Such a bother."

"Better hope there were no artifacts of any value within target area then."

"... Curse you, hindsight." Vice sighed, then shrugged.. "Go now, best not keep the kids waiting."

"And you?" Jealousy wondered.

"I'm..." he looked over his shoulder at the organics' APC, coincidentally on a heading that would bring it directly underneath him, "... just waiting for my ride."

"... Opportunist." the aspect said shrugged before he left.

Vice chuckled inwardly, and dropped himself onto the vehicle's roof once it came close enough, grabbing onto its hull hard enough not to be swept off by the difference in momentum. It probably startled those inside, but to be honest... he didn't care. Only casting a single glance back at Jin's group as he and his bodyguards tried to catch up.

It only took a few minutes of further fighting to dismantle the kurozu outside, the battlefield now shifting over to the interior of the arcology. Dôji soldiers landing across hundreds of floors. So far, no Deus ex Machina had been sighted, yet. Vice assumed they were held back to form a more comprehensive line of battle further inside.

Only one way to know for sure.

* * *

Whoever had landed atop the vehicle, Garrus by pure reflex upped the speed for as much as the craft's governor allowed,and raced them into the largest hole seen, and headed in for as far as possible while having the vehicle turned, making it slide sideways into the darkened place until the pilot finally saw the need to stop... upon seeing no dôji doing anything but getting out of their way, and casting curious glances.

"Okay, everyone out!" he called out, followed by a hiss as the two in the back opened the rear-hatch to exit – weapons ready, Tarras pulled himself out of his chair to follow suit.

"Remember, guys." the co-pilot said; "I'm relying on you for my safety.."

Garrus managed a laugh, "Oh, how selfish of you.." before he kicked open the hatch next to himself and rolled out onto the precious floor – broken by that awesomely destructive move that grand aspect pulled off.

Despite the destruction however, he managed to identify the local area as a maintenance hub. With smaller tunnels leading outwards.. but with this sector as ruined as it is now... most of them had either been broken or severed.

Further away, Nihlus announced a; "Clear!" with a bark. Having just scanned the initial surrounding area for hostiles. Though by now, the fighting had been moving steadily inward. Troops of dôji still racing past the shuttle in large numbers.

"Clear!" Garrus echoed, doing the exact same. Turning his head just enough to gaze obliquely at Tarras and Saren as they went to check for the one who promptly dismounted from the APC's roof, guns aimed... but the former retracted his the moment he saw it was Vice himself.

"Fancy meeting you here, birds." the grand aspect referred to the aliens as he stepped in between the spectre and com dôji.. "You there... Tarras, is it?"

Said synthetic straightened up, "Y-yes, my lord."

"You've been stationed here before.. do you know the location of dig site 14?"

"Er..." Tarras looked like he was wracking his head for old memories, "I think so.. but it has probably moved down deeper since then."

Impatient, in a hot-zone filled with murderous machines fighting one another, Saren broke his way into the conversation and repeated Vice's question, but cutting it short; "Where?"

"In the sub-levels. A few hundred floors below us, give or take. As far down as is possible at this time. That's about the most I can guess."

"Hrm..." Vice hummed darkly, "Message first, second and fourth regiments. This is a direct order: Tell them direct their efforts against the kurozu in the floors below us. And tell Jealousy to take the rest up towards the command center. Divide and conquer."

Tarras bowed meekly, complying.

"And you..!" he prodded the closest turian; Saren, that is, before walking on ahead; "You birds come with me."

"But we're attached to the third regi-" Garrus started to protest, only for Saren to close in and interrupt him with a sharp shoulder to the side, "What...?"

"Be quiet." Saren hissed in a very low voice, "Don't you realize he's diverting fifty percent of the army, just to save one single dig site?"

"Whatever is down there, must be very important." Nihlus said as he approached them, making it clear he knows where Saren's going, "As such, our best course of action right now, is to head down there as well and see what the fuss is about."

By then, Vice had gone far into the distance.. and finally – with an impatient gesture – turned to shout at them, "You coming, or what?!"

"Okay." Garrus conceded almost hastily, as they complied, and moved to follow the crowd onward. "But don't blame me if you guys get added to a stew for this."

"It's the grand aspect's orders." Nihlus noted with a hidden grin, "So we'll be just fine."

But the journey downward would be anything but easy. Though still standing, large sections of the arcology is either rusted, or reduced to a stripped skeleton. And that's without adding all the killer machines waiting for them.

* * *

_Two hours later..._

_Location_: Empire state spire, close to HQ.

_Divide and conquer.._

Those words had been echoing in his head since he first heard the message from one of his com dôji. Jealousy rolled his eyes for the nth time at such choice of words.

He expected a long-lasting battle upon arrival, but the fighting on his end had been sporadic at best, even though his troops were spread out across at least fifty floors, moving like a giant mass diagonally through the structure, heading for the control room where the expedition's HQ's located. And would in due time surround it like a protective membrane, and make preparations.

"Come with me.." he calmly issued the order to a number of his subordinates, close to three dozen of them. More his backup than anything, just in case. "Oda." he addressed one of the older minor dôji of the third regiment, "You keep things tidy while I'm in there."

"I'll do that, my lord." the largely orange-colored synthetic complied with a low bow before he strolled off.

Satisfied that his forces are in good hands, Jealousy climbed past the barricades leading into the expedition's administrative base – those he chose following in his wake – and down the long hall beyond it, and found the floor littered with corpses of both kurozu and dôji alike.

The hall itself had been rendered largely lifeless, so he and his subordinates moved straight to the control room at the far end – a rather large one with a tall ceiling, befitting the scale of the megastructure around them. But just past the double-door ahead, they found the place to be heavily thrashed. Bodies everywhere from both sides. It almost looked like a total loss, until Jealousy noticed several of the bodies still moved, weakly. Counting seventeen dôji still alive, all heavily damaged. Half-buried in the wrecks of the squids that nearly killed them.

"... Clear the junk and prepare the injured for extraction."

Following the order, his soldiers raced in to gather the injured. The aspect walking across the room, towards the control panels, on the lookout for a map over all the dig sites in the spire. That is, until one of the injured suddenly woke up and grabbed Jealousy's leg, breathing raggedly as he tried to tell him something.

Jealousy blinked and set his gaze on the injured one, "What did you say?"

"Erk..." the minor dôji coughed, "Uh, be careful... my lord. Usok's gone crazy.."

"Usok? What happened to him?!"

Before the other could tell, a pile of bodies behind the aspect fell apart.. from which a very recognizable shape surfaced, who immediately leaped to strike him from behind.

Jealousy immediately articulated his left gauntlet – aided by his Noh – to block the strike, whirled around, and used the same movement to accelerate the arm to slam his perceived enemy into the wall. Only to see that it is actually a dôji, much to the surprise of everyone but the injured.

"Is this... betrayal?" one of his soldiers asked, deeply disturbed. Scuffles sometimes happen, but outright betrayal was unheard of.

"No." Jealousy huffed, and looked over Usok as he sprawled on the floor after that heavy blow. "There must be some trick at work here.."

It only took a couple of seconds before the leader of the expedition recovered, and rose up again. Only, it looked... strange. Like something had just picked him up.

Suspicious, Jealousy swept a single claw through the air above the minor dôji, and watched as he fell back down, like a doll with no strings attached. And with that knowledge, he had his arm transform into an automatic cannon and perforated the ceiling above him, causing a section of it to come down, along with a shot-up machine that looked like a demonic joker.

"What is that?" one of the others asked.

"Another bastard toy." Jealousy noted the red blinking light that came from the machine's chest, as if from inside. Playing it safe, he shoved a claw through it, just in case it was a bomb. Even the best bomb is harmless if it's destroyed before it can detonate.. but when the room started to shake, it would seem it wasn't a bomb after all, "All of you, get back." he had shouted as his Noh practically screamed at him, allowing his soldiers to slip out of the room with the injured just in time for another machine to burst in through the floor. This time, a Deus ex Machina.

It was shaped like a black knight, and immediately bore down on the aspect with its humongous lance. On which several dôji had been impaled.

But Jealousy did not let it even pull a punch. The moment it attacked, the thing stopped mid-movement, as if it had gotten stuck in something. Momentarily confused, it tilted its head to see what had stopped it so abruptly... and found a series of threads wrapped around its lance-wielding arm, attached to both walls and the ceiling. It had gotten stuck within a hastily made spiderweb.

"Just in time." the aspect sighed, both his arms raised, with several launchers open across his gauntlets, from which he launched said web, "You won't break out of this so easily..." and with a pull, caused the web to constrict and tighten around the machine, which pinned its legs and arms together. Rendered helpless, it crashed into the floor.

By the time it stopped moving, several hundred more soldiers had rushed to the room, only to see the situation fully under control.

He could destroy it right there. But something had tickled him as odd about this whole situation. There's too little resistance. The kurozu have made a real mess of the expedition, but there was something strange about the enemy force. Even though it amounted to hypothetical thinking.

Jealousy looked the thing over, his eyes settling especially on the corpses stuck to its lance like morbid trophies.. and froze as he recognized one of them as Mans. Though he was sad to see the poor fellow dead, the most important thing was that he was a com dôji. Then it might be reasonable to guess the rest of those bodies are of the same bloodline.

Satisfied with the observation, he took the most logical step available, and addressed the soldiers arrayed in the hall beyond, that until now had been watching almost speechlessly; "Guys, would you mind picking this fellow apart for me? But note, keep as many components undamaged as possible – for study. Got it?"

"Aye!" came response from those within earshot, more than a few cracking their knuckles.

"Whoever finds what ultimately gives us the answers to the important question of today, gets a special reward from me." nothing wrong with incentives after all, would encourage them to be extra careful. And many roared in approval. Damn near everybody did.

The Deus ex Machina could do nothing but wriggle and bark incoherently as the all the minor dôji proceeded to swarm it from all sides, like a big cow caught in a huge school of hungry piranhas.

Leaving them to do the work, Jealousy gestured for the unconscious Usok to be taken away before he went back to search for the map. And would divide his forces to search all the dig sites for survivors once he find it.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

_Location_: Several hundred floors below.

They could barely keep up at this rate. Garrus felt his every joint ache at all the running. Getting further down was easy enough, but there hasn't been any time to take a break.

"Left!" he heard Saren shout before the lead spectre turned, gun in hand.

Garrus reacted automatically, and opened fire the moment he spotted the enemy rushing at them, and pulled the trigger. The machines staggered as the barrage from the two turians hammered the squids that attempted to rush them.

Another squid broke out through the wall behind them, and attempted to take Nihlus down.. Only his well-honed skills with a bladed weapon saved him – though the training involved knives, not swords – as he span, dragged the sword from his holster and slashed it through the air between him and the mechanical monster, severing several of the tentacles, and then plunged the blade deep into the main body. The squid convulsed for a single moment before it collapsed. Wherever the blow landed, it was someplace important.

"Push forward!" Saren followed up, and ran on ahead.

Garrus turned and followed across yet another broken floor. The whole place was leaking, kurozu so to speak, they could come out almost anywhere. There are many dôji around them on this floor, and tons of more further away in surrounding floors, pushing down.

Still, the number of hostile forces had been on the steady decrease as the noise of conflict lessened over the last couple of hours.

Saren descended the next set of stairs and attempted to cross the subsequent floor... but – to the half-amusement of his comrades – slipped and careened right into a dôji who just happened to be there.

"H-hey!" the synthetic quacked in surprise and shoved the turian away, which sent him across the area, though more because of how slippery the floor is.. several more dôji dodging the careening turian along the way.

Watching their steps, Garrus and Nihlus followed him. They emerged into a major chamber with an exit on the far end, with huge piles of junk beyond it.. a large hole in the middle of the room, and a stain that seemed to cover the entirety of the floor – the stuff Saren in his haste slid off of.

"You okay?" Garrus asked as they finally got to Saren, who had only managed to stop by crashing into a wall.. He looked like he was in a little bit of pain.

Saren growled as he slowly picked himself back up, "Nothing's wrong... ugh."

"At least you didn't fall into that hole over yonder." Nihlus noted.

"Yeah." the elder spectre grunted, "...Lucky me."

"If you three are done having fun over there..." Vice addressed them a little harshly as he appeared, passing through the crowd that steadily grew as more squadrons spilled into the area, resulting in a slew of spectators. The grand aspect didn't look all too pleased, but did not put into words as to why; "... the dig site's straight below us. Jin."

Jin alongside his bodyguards and Tarras materialized from the crowd, "Yes?"

"Enemy forces have largely been eliminated." the grand aspect said with a hint of regret, "Tell those still hiding in dig site 14 the coast is clear."

"On it. By the way, Jealousy has reported in. Enemy presence in upper floors has been successfully suppressed, currently evacuating expedition survivors and taking apart a Deus ex Machina for study, something about suspicion regarding the lackluster resistance."

_Lackluster... not a word I would use.._ Garrus thought inwardly.

"Whatever his thoughts are, tell him to get it done and report back."

"Roger that. Also, I've gotten a response from com specialist Chrysta. Foreman Dio acknowledges, and have ordered his crews to undo the cork they set in place in the hole."

"Good." Vice settled his gaze on the turians for a moment before he turned to address the assembled troops - just a few hundred up to now, the rest still homing in on the chamber. "We're nearly finished here. Make sure the area remains secure, if any kurozu rear their collective heads, report back immediately. Got it?"

All of the soldiers stood to attention, arms crossed behind their backs as they shouted back a crystal-clear; "Sir, yes sir." and dispersed to take positions across the perimeter. Which left the assembled group by the wall to wait for the hole to get uncorked.

Garrus' only major thought right then was how he and the others are supposed to get down to the dig site short of asking the synthetics to carry them – depending on how far it actually is.

For now, he kept himself quiet, and waited. And stealthily rolled his eyes at Saren and Nihlus as the two engaged in a deeply hushed conversation.

But then, Jin gasped; "Sir, I've gotten word from our scouts outside. This is bad."

* * *

_Twenty minutes later..._

_Location_: Dig site 14.

Foreman Dio waited as the last of the cork was disassembled, and awaited the grand aspect's arrival as his workers came down with the last few pieces to throw them into the large pile nearby. The last worker barely got down before the grand aspect arrived, who had silently dropped himself through the hole without using his rocket boosters.

It certainly was a dramatic entrance, many of those here had gathered around underneath the hole took an abrupt step back to form a rough semi-circle to give those coming down room to land.

Vice hit the floor hard, but bent his legs to absorb some of the impact... but ultimately he recovered instantly, "Foreman Dio, I presume?"

Dio stood a little straighter as he was spoken to; "Yes, I am. On behalf of everyone here, I thank you for your quick response, and-"

"Spare me the platitudes. Prepare for evacuation, the expedition, what's left of it.. is over. I've just gotten the report that the kurozu has sent a massive army against us. They will arrive within the next hour or two. Now tell me, where is it?"

The foreman almost paled at the information, though he was still momentarily distracted as Vice's com dôji came down, carrying a trio of organics. He had only heard rumors about the alien organics, but had his own personal doubts if it was indeed true... until now. He looked to and from Vice and the aliens before he finally acknowledged the order; "Y-yes. Right this way."

* * *

"So... we meet at last." Vice said after the foreman had led him to the recently-opened door, with the machine in there still sitting on its throne, "Taisho class Frogfoot; Undertaker."

The towering machine lowered its head slightly to regard the green-colored dôji, but didn't answer.

"I am Vice. One of the Grand Aspects of the dôji. And I'm here to take you with us, and see whatever precious thing you've devoted yourself to guard for so long."

"Hmzt. My duty is here, and you shall not pass."

"The kurozu are coming, several hundreds of thousands. Stay, and you'll perish."

"Hmzt. Let them come."

"As much as I like bravado.." Vice cut himself short. Going directly like this wouldn't work, "What must we do?"

The machine tilted its head.

"What must we do, to make you comply?"

"Hmzt. Only those who can bring forth life may command me. And only they may be allowed to pass." the Undertaker spoke seriously, "You can not, for you are a machine, just like me."

"Bring forth life." Vice repeated, "You're speaking of the ability to create life through birth?"

"Hmzt. Exactly."

"If we can prove to you that we function as a species and capable of creating new life.. would it fulfill your criteria?"

The machine was silent as it processed this at length, "Hmmmzt. Perhaps."

"Good enough." Vice turned to Jin with a clever smile.

Jin bowed slightly, "What is your instructions, my lord?"

"Hm~ Message Ultimo, and tell him about the machine we're talking to, and its conditions. Pardonner is due really soon, as I recall."

"Y-yes, he is."

Vice grinned, "It may be a breach of regulations, but we need to do this quickly. If it's soon enough, I want Pardonner to be brought here."

Jin's eyes widened, "You mean."

"Yes, we need him to give birth to his child here, where the Undertaker can see it."

His com specialist took a couple of steps closer and spoke in a hushed tone, "Er... You could try to have the turians get past the Undertaker.. they're organic after all." casting a glance to where the three stood... surrounded by the workers of the dig site, swamped by all the questions the eager synthetics could throw at them.

"No, this is something _we_ need to do. Send the message, and make it happen."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: One step closer**

* * *

_Location_: Northern dome; hospital.

"What did you say?!"

Tali covered her ears at the height of Pardonner's outburst after Daos had dropped the bomb. Reacting in a manner she thought only an outraged mother could. But it's really no wonder... as it is his soon-to-be-born child they're talking about.

He looked just about to get up, claws ready to strangle someone.. It was fortunate that his mobility was limited by the closeness of the approaching childbirth.

"I'm sorry, sir." Daos apologized with a low bow, deeply intimidated by the fierce glare Pardonner gave him. "It-it's an order from Vice.. and Ultimo gave his approval just minutes ago."

Liara was quite distraught too on the bedridden dôji's behalf, and argued for his case; "But, won't that endanger the infant?" asking Sophia as much as she asked Daos.

It was the aspect of wisdom who answered the question, "It is. At such an eaerly stage, a dôji's extremely weak and vulnerable. As such, it's forbidden for a pregnant dôji to be on the field... To so easily push for an exception..."

"Is this that important?"

"Er..." Daos shrank away, "T-the Frogfoot is guarding something.. and the big three want to know what it is. But it won't allow us to explore as long as it regard us with suspicion. Vice seems to think that the best way to convince the Frogfoot, is show that dôji are born instead of built. That we function as a species. There's very little time.. and there's a huge force of kurozu inbound on their location. Whatever they can learn from that place, it needs to be found soon."

"Ugh... so Vice's willing to endanger my son to prove something to an old robot.." Pardonner muttered lowly as he winced from the lingering pain, "Ah.."

Sophia looked over his old friend's heavily pregnant gauntlet, "Calm yourself.. or you'll get another problem like the one earlier."

"Y-yeah..." the aspect eased himself back down in an attempt to relax despite himself, "I know."

"Are you okay?" Tali asked, stunned. She probably didn't think a synthetic could possibly experience such agony.

Pardonner squirmed as he felt the pain subside, "I... will, just give me a moment."

"Hm.." Sophia mused, "I apologize, old friend... but I kind of _do_ see Vice's reasoning. If this is what might convince the Frogfoot to step aside and cooperate.. it might be worth the risk, especially if whatever it is guarding might help us. The humans did not assign Taisho-class robots to such guard-duties casually, especially not a Frogfoot."

"Ugh..." Pardonner focused his eyes on Promina, who stood right behind Liara; "Would it be too much to ask for Ultimo's presence so I might give him a piece of my mind before deciding?"

The attention of everyone involved were instantly on the com dôji, who mentally shrunk away before he forwarded the aspect's request to the Core. Only to answer with a shake of his head, "He's not available at this time. Went out for a walk."

"So." Tali raised her shoulders, "He did it, thinking Pardonner's fine with the decision... or to get the hell out of dodge in case he wasn't?"

"... I am _so_ going to chew him out later for that." Pardonner swore.

"S-sir..." Daos coughed, "Please make a decision."

"As if I got any choice..." the aspect clenched his teeth, "I'll go... but make sure the place is ready. The ass-end of archaeological dig is not the most favorable place for a childbirth."

"Heaters are being gathered for use, sir."

As if called for, a spatial orb appeared just a few feet away from the bed. Pardonner truly did not have much of a choice.. it was practically an order from Ultimo to get in there and get it done. Within the range of an engrave or not, the grand aspect gave his approval... gave some space for conversation, and now threw a spatial orb in... as punctuation.

"I'll come too." Liara said.

The quarian followed suit, "Same here."

"We'll all go." Sophia nodded with an air of reassurance.

They gave one another a nod and each took hold of Pardonner's bed.. all but Daos, who had to return to work. And as the group closed in around the bed to pull it along to the orb waiting for them, Pardonner whispered a low; "... Thank you."

* * *

_Location_: Empire state spire; Dig site 14.

"I'll tell you, I don't envy him one bit in this. And that's a first for me. If I was in his position, I'd be pissed off too."

It was Jin who spoke, but with Jealousy's exact words. Now carrying out as direct a conversation the aspects could at this distance. Vice tossed a glare at the source of the light that momentarily illuminated the chamber, a spatial ball which spawned, and proceeded to disgorge a full group, with the bed-ridden Pardonner in the middle.

Vice ignored the deeply vexed stare the minor aspect sent in his direction, and turned away to address Jealousy through Jin; "Pardonner ain't got any other choice but to suck it up and do it. But enough about that, what do you have for me?"

It took a few seconds before the answer came; "Fine. We've disassembled the Deus ex Machina over here, and came across something peculiar."

"... And that is?"

"New sensory hardware. As common sense dictates, if you're building any machine worth a damn, it needs some decent sensory capability-"

"- Spare me the basic rust. Get to the point." Vice snarled.

"... It's an amalgamation. A combination of their tech, and what I'm guessing is tech reverse-engineered from that of the alien ship. But not only did they put those two together, but upgraded it as well. I've already tested it against a ward.. and the sensor penetrated it like it's not even there."

"So now they got hardware that ain't just cobbled scrap. Then we know how they found out about the dig sites here."

"I'd say we should withdraw the other expeditions too. If the kurozu found these, they'll find those too."

"Rust. Of course. Now, how does it tell com dôji apart from the rest of us?"

"I doubt they knew those were com dôji to begin with. Or at least specifically. It seems they have slightly greater emissions than the rest of us, if only in extremely slight amounts. Probably guessed those were important, and hit the jackpot." Jealousy explained at length, "To think this little thing could do so much harm. Many ants can topple an elephant, but damn. Think of what a dedicated unit could do with this kind of hardware..."

"Yeah... could be bad." Vice drawled.

"I've salvaged what's left of the thing's memory banks. Managed to save a few tidbits of information despite its efforts to erase everything. Only scattered details, but-"

A slightly pain-filled groan came from the pregnant dôji in the distance, which told Vice quite clearly that the moment of truth's close at hand. And on that note:

"- That can wait. Find out what you can, and report back later once we're out of this place."

"Will do." Jin sighed as the flow of engraves ended, "Phew..."

With a low snort, Vice made for the group as it approached the towering Frogfoot. Making his way through the thinning crowd as the dig crew made their way to the rendezvous-point, where all the survivors along with the bodies of the dead are being brought for extraction. Easier to make sure everyone gets out that way.

Almost at the bed, he went ahead and asked rather rudely; "Hope your litter's ready to be dropped soon. Time's short."

* * *

"Ugh.. someday.." Pardonner swore under his breath, "I'll take a chainsaw to that mop you call hair."

Vice didn't look affected by threat in the least, "Yeah yeah, get over it."

"Hold on now." Garrus interjected, "That's not very nice."

"Of course not. I'm evil."

"Really proud of that, ain't you."

"Pride is Orgullo's shtick. Otherwise, damn straight."

"Be quiet, if you please." Sophia intervened next as he circled the bed to get everyone to step away to what he measured to be a decent distance, except the minor dôji surrounding it with heaters for both parent's and child's comfort, as they closed the final distance to the door.. from which the Frogfoot watched the unconventional procession.

Pardonner let himself sink into the soft bed, staring at the Undertaker rather searchingly. As if to confirm whether this whole thing was a jest on its part; "For your information, Undertaker... this is deeply embarrassing on my part."

The machine did not respond, but it appeared... strangely curious as it leaned a little closer, "Hmzt. Your arm. The readings. It's almost like..."

The aspect looked down at his pregnant arm. It felt like it was throbbing, though it wasn't. "-A childbirth about to happen. Our father gave us much, including our ability to reproduce. You asked for proof... and I'm here to provide it, whether I like it or not."

Despite to the lack of ability to formulate any form of expressions, it telegraphed its 'feelings' strangely well. "Hmzt... I see."

"Yes... just wait a bit." he still felt extremely uncomfortable. Despite the near dozen heaters held by the assistants brought here before him, the cold of this place could not be kept entirely at bay. He didn't want to let his kid out. Not here... but the time had come.

"It's as ready as can be, old friend." Sophia said, and gestured for the assistants to move just a little closer, which did manage to heighten the temperature around him slightly.

Liara entered the view, visibly worried. But the fellow aspect was quick to push her back to a safe distance. Not because the birth was going to be of the explosive kind... but because the event instills the parent with a very powerful synthetic equivalents of organic maternal/paternal instincts. Strictly speaking, getting between a dôji and his son (provided the kid is younger than two months) is tantamount to suicide. The parent won't hesitate for a second to tear through the perceived threat to ensure the offspring's safety.

Before she could say anything, another rush of agony floored him. But this was different. No matter how many times he had gone through this... he never managed to get used to it. No one did. But the anguish was fleeting, temporary... nothing compared to the pure and wonderful feeling that irrevocably follows in its wake.

The organic raised her hands to her mouth in a display of shock as his right gauntlet twitched almost violently, the claws closed and spread awkwardly as if the joints did not fit properly together anymore. But it was nothing compared to what followed when the gauntlet split, cracked, and bounced away from the bulge in the middle, and collapsed into pieces which rained onto himself, the bed and the floor around it.. only the back of it behind the wrist remained, revealing the very human-like hand that until then was so thoroughly concealed.

Before his eyes, the oval-shaped egg fell, and landed neatly into his lap.. and for a moment, lay perfectly still. Pardonner reclined with a gasp, and panted heavily, like he had just been through an extreme work-out. A part of the process meant to make the new life as precious in the parent's eyes as possible.

Pardonner looked down, relative to his position.. his gaze fixed on the egg as a tiny click came from it, before the thing split in two right down the middle. The aspect felt elation run through him. A sense of incredible focus that blotted out everything around him to the point that it was as though the rest of the world vanished. Just him, alone with the tiny curled-up child wriggling faintly on top of what was left of the egg, in the process of letting out a low birth-cry. Just like all other dôji at the beginning of their lives, his was so small it could easily fit in the palm of Liara's hand.

He brought his exposed hand down to the little body and brushed his index finger against its back, to which the newborn responded with an adorable little squeal. Unfamiliar with the sense of touch, now doing a lot of things for the first time. Though newly born, it had characteristics of how it would look upon reaching adulthood; a rather lanky build. Short golden hair that might only grow in the months after this. The body budged, and the child pushed itself up a little.. to open the eyes for the very first time. Ones with brilliantly golden irises, and identically-colored pupils. Searched, and found the face of its father, looking back at it with the broad and wonderful smile he could not avoid himself from showing no matter how hard he tried.

The child stared at him at length, but closed his eyes to shudder at the cold in the air.. which prompted the aspect to curl his fingers around the tiny body and gently lifted it away from the egg... and put it down onto his chest, then wordlessly opened a pocket on the collar of his kimono.

The newborn experimentally tried to move around, and examined his father's movements, gaze fixed on the open pocket till he understood.. and put his clumsy motor skills to the test. After a few tries, it managed to crawl into the pocket... from which – in both warmth and comfort – it looked up at Pardonner with unrelentingly curious eyes.

Joy was too weak a word to describe this feeling. And amidst it all, he was hard at work thinking of a name to give the new dôji. Then... it just came to him, and he leaned his head as close as he could to his son, while the palm of his hand brushed against the pocket; "Listen well, my son." he spoke as softly as he could. "Don't be afraid. You got a long life ahead of you, one filled with all kinds of events and surprises. I will do all I can to give you a good childhood. To show you and teach you all that you need to know. Do you understand, _Hikari_?"

It was more of a ceremony than anything else. The newborn did not understand anything of what he just said... but the emphasis he put in the last word caused it's eyes to gleam for a single instant. Name accepted, and will thus react and answer to being addressed accordingly from now on.

As if from far away, the aspect was spoken to; "Congratulations, friend."

* * *

It was almost magical to witness the first contact between father and son. Liara was almost bewitched by the sight, and adored the tiny dôji. She wanted to hold it _so_ much. Her desire so obvious, Sophia shook his head at her.

"Don't even think about it, if you wish to keep your hands where they are."

Sophia smiled and left the bed to approach the Frogfoot... which was rendered completely speechless by what it just beheld. "You wanted proof. There it is..."

The Undertaker appeared speechless, cause it did not respond for several seconds till it finally acknowledged the golden-maned aspect, "Hmmmmzt. For such a thing to be possible. If I hadn't seen it with my own optics..."

"Will you allow us entry now?"

"Hmzt. I shall, but require just one question to be answered. Who was it that created the first among you?"

"Our father, Roger Dunstan-"

"Hmzt. _Sir_ Roger Dunstan?" it asked, and stood up from its throne.

"You know him?"

The Undertaker coughed a laugh like an old man, "Hmzt. Huh. What robot worth its chip doesn't? Did he survive the war?"

"For a while. We were his final project."

Another question was about to be raised. But it scratched against the last of a certain's someone's patience: "Come on, this is just annoying waste of time." Vice interjected rudely with a mean snarl, "Reminiscence later."

It raised its shoulders, and stepped aside, "Hmzt. You may pass, children of Sir Dunstan."

"Thank you." Sophia told him with great gratifaction, "Do you per chance know what is in there?"

The machine shook its head, "Hmzt... I was merely the guardian."

With a stomp of its spear into the floor, the throne split apart and transformed into a statue with a trio of freely-floating rings up across it. Shaped in the figure of a man in a bulky suit, an arm raised into the air. Behind it, another door eased open – revealing a passage that lead deeper into the complex. This done, the Frogfoot bowed.

"Okay.." the aspect of wisdom temporarily looked confused and overwhelmed for an instant before he turned to Vice, "I'll take it from here."

Vice snorted, "Do it, and gather everything you find." then pointed at the Frogfoot, "As for you. If you're free, work with us."

"Hmzt... Now that my task is done, my spear is yours."

Sophia got ready to move in, but gestured to her and Tali; "Come along you two. Let's see what treasure's inside."

The asari was about to comply, but was stopped as Saren came so close she could feel his breath upon her neck, "Memorize everything. I want a full report on what's in there later."

Liara's opinion of the Spectre was not the greatest in the world, but she nodded reassuringly, if only to get him off her back, "I will." When she managed to get away from him, Tali had already moved on ahead with Sophia.. down the hallway ahead.

Behind, the exchange continued. Vice could barely even heed his own advice and decisions. But then, that is the chaos of evil:

"So, who was that Commandant of yours?"

"Hmzt... An honorable man by the name of John Shepard."

* * *

The trip down the passage was short. The three could already see the end of it a minute after they entered it. "Not the most impressive sight, is it?" Sophia commented on the first impression he got from the place, while showing off a clever smile.

Liara agreed, "Looks can be deceiving. I know that from experience."

The quarian looked around as they entered the room. At first, it looked no different from the more sleazy bars in the Citadel. A circular chamber, with rows of tables circling a single wide-set projector in the middle. There was no computer in sight.. until they got closer to the projector.. at which the machinery lit up.

"I can't believe this place still got a power supply." Tali moved a little closer to brush her hand against the device.. but her fingers met resistance as a holographic terminal popped up, awaiting input.

Sophia closed in and observed, "Hm...? Huge capacity, but not much stored away in the system. Try to open the files."

Tali frowned and placed a lone finger against the screen, and pressed the only thing on the screen, which started the projector and displayed some text. Little more than presentation: "Project Tenjo?"

"What does that mean?" Liara asked.

The aspect cocked his head to the side, "Tenjo. It's a Japanese word. It means... Divine Aid."

"That sounds promising. What more is in there, Tali?"

"Only one file." Tali tapped it and brought its contents to the projector... which displayed a series of numbers. It looked like coordinates.

Sophia examined them, "Hm. The first sequence of numbers points to... Mt. Everest. The tallest mountain on this planet. The next... specifies closer. The third... depth. These coordinates are underground. I'd think we'd know if there was something there a long time ago... but maybe whatever is down there got special protection. This it?"

"Can't find anything else. Other than these, it's empty."

"I see. Let's see is there's anything else here before we blow this place."

"What are you going to do about those coordinates?"

"Present the find to the big three, then arrange an expedition to that location, and find out what exactly is there."

"Any chance we may come along?"

"I don't know... Don't you have important stuff to do already?"

Tali thought about that, and remembered, "Oh yeah... the Uncovering Sight." Those poor workers are probably still waiting for her to come back.

"Yes. But for now.." Sophia walked away to inspect the closest table, "Let's see what we can find."

And so the three went to search the place with what little time they got left here. And would be the last to evacuate the tower before the kurozu gets here.

* * *

_Location_: Noveria; Peak 17; Control room.

Desolas wasn't pleased. An accident happened during the dissection of the dôji they began on last time he was here. The core sphere within its chest had been completely reduced to fragments. An act that killed the specimen.

"How did it happen?" he growled harshly at Aneera, "Did I put too much faith on the expertise of your personnel?"

The researcher bowed in an apologetic manner for the nth time, "I don't know. Everything was going fine, but then the accident. It shouldn't had happened. Everything checked out, all precautions taken, but it still happened."

The General frowned deeply. He was in a good mood before this came to his attention. His request had won out, and a blockade had been put into place to make sure the machine species won't be able to leave their system.

He was about ready to continue reprimanding the researcher – apologies be damned – for the catastrophic failure when the lights suddenly flickered... followed by an alarm.

"Huh?"

One of Aleena's staff turned around, "Chief, something just happened in lab sixteen."

"What? … Show me!"

Desolas moved in closer along with Aleena to see what the trouble was. Displaying what is currently going on in the aforementioned laboratory. Most of the view was obscured by smoke... but from what little could bee seen, there are a lot of bodies, and sounds of gunfire and screaming.

"A message just came in from Security: All of the mechs in the section are attacking our personnel. Cause: Unknown."

Aleena acted quickly: "Cut off all system contact between section nine and the rest of the facility."

"Things just keep getting better." Desolas muttered sarcastically, and pressed his earpiece to call for the soldiers he came here with: "All troops, move in and converge on lab sixteen. Whatever is going on in there, I want it under control stat!"

"Lab sixteen is where a large piece of machinery belonging to that other machine race was brought. Maybe it's still functional.. Or this was an act of sabotage."

"My men will put a stop to it. We'll nip this in the bud, and find out what happened after." the General, plucked his gun up and turned to leave as he spoke.

"Wait, sir. You're not going down there, are you?"

"I will see this for myself. The enemy are nothing more than security and utility mechs. Nothing to fear if we do this quickly and overwhelmingly."

* * *

But things are often much more easily said than done. Both the facility's security detail and his troops outside swarmed towards the affected section of the facility. Not mindlessly though, Desolas would never allow his troops to behave like the brutish krogan.

He was in the middle of the first wave, advancing down a broad passage along with a few squads of fellow turians, weapons ready. Shooting down anything synthetic that moves. Spearheading the squads was a trio armed with riot shields - to compensate for lack of cover in these passages.

The enemy on the other hand did not take any measures of self-preservation. Those in front rounded a corner and leaned against the resulting gunfire. A look around the corner identified the opposition as a dozen basic mechs armed with pistols. He took a step forward and opened up a shot over a subordinate's shoulder. The machine he aimed the shot at toppled immediately. It did not even have kinetic barriers, "Gun them down!"

His men organized a swift firing line behind their shielded compatriots and mopped the floor with those that remained in a volley of gunfire. Further in, more ambled into view... and got shot down too for their trouble.

Across the net, reports came about similar decisive engagements. These mechs were throwing themselves away like they wanted to be destroyed. No cover used. No ambush. Just a blind charge.

But his group's almost at the lab, and that was all that mattered.

Along the way, he waded in the strange elation combat brought. He felt alive, fighting the enemy up close. It was a whole different matter at command posts and warships.

The last few mechs found were finished off quickly, and they entered the lab itself – which had been darkened by all the damage across it. In the middle lay the remains of one of the larger machines, seemingly inactive. And all around it, lay the corpses of slaughtered researchers.

"Fan out. Cover each passage." he told his men.

And while they rushed in compliance with his orders, he cautiously approached the machine. Though it was heavily damaged already when it was recovered, he did not take any chances.

Desolas crouched down and looked into one of the many gaps in its structurally damaged shell.. and found a red light glowing deep inside. The thing's active after all, "So... this mess was your handiwork, huh?" … "Isolate the sample." he told the soldiers and turned to step away from the machine.

But it did not remain idle. And before the General had taken two steps, it spoke to him with a booming voice; "Arrogant creature. You stand before but one of an infinite multitude."

All within earshot turned on the spot to aim at the machine's ruined husk, but Desolas made them lower their weapons with a wave. "You can speak. But it doesn't matter what you say. I will have you picked apart and use your secrets to propel my people to the peak of the galaxy. Nothing will stop us, least of all you."

It was silent, but that was soon broken by a chuckle filled with malice, "You seek power." It was like he had hit a special button to get this response.

"So what if I am?"

"Organic desires." it said, "Willingness to gain at the expense of others."

"It is a noble goal." Desolas insisted, acting very nonchalant. "Turian kowtowing to others has gone on for long enough."

"How far?" the dramatic flair of its voice ebbed, "Would you go to _any_ length to ensure your species' supremacy?"

"Yes."

It chuckled again, louder this time, and at length, before it finally stopped. As if to scrutinize him, "Then listen up. And you will see your dreams fulfilled within your paltry lifetime."

* * *

**Author notes:** Curse ye, Reapers. For being so hard to imagine participating in an actual conversation. Whenever I try to have a kurozu enter one, I can't help but think of Reaper "I taunt you!"-style dialogue... and for some reason, the large hams that is the Goa'uld from Stargate.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: On the precipice**

* * *

_Date_: Midday on 10th April, 3575 A.D.

_Location_: Mt. Everest; Project Tenjo Facility.

"Oof, it's pitch black."

Sophia gazed into the blackness of the space they just arrived at, his and the others' owl-eye needed a moment to adjust to it after the illumination of the spatial ball they arrived with dissipated.

Whatever the place was, indicated by the coordinates, it is huge. He only brought about two dozen dôji, including the aspect of pride, Orgullo – yet the echoes caused by their voices and footsteps in this vast and seemingly empty space made the group sound like a thousand strong army.

It was Orgullo who complained about the darkness first, and did it loudly – as if he expected to wake some terrible guardian from their slumber, and give this mission an amount of simplicity. Alas, there was no response.

"Spread out." Sophia told the rest and invisibly gestured, "Find the reactor of this place, get some power running. Orgullo.. could you give us some light?"

"Once again, fire solves the problem." the behemoth of a dôji chuckled and raised a massive gauntlet into the air, "Flame Koma." From the fist, a perfectly round ball of fire appeared and hovered. The light went a long way to illuminate the place... but what they saw, couldn't quite be described with words.

Sophia took a few steps, his feet hit the thin surface of what could only be a scaffold – and accidentally kicked a loose object lying on the ground off the edge just a few inches ahead. And for several seconds, there were no sound of it hitting whatever floor might be far below – not even after a minute of observation.

Emblazoned on the hull of a gargantuan structure before them - that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction – was a single word; Tenjo.

The aspect of wisdom was struck speechless by the scale of it.. and from his lips, came only an astounded; "O-oh my..."

Of all the things he and the others thought they would find here... This... wasn't one of them.

* * *

Meanwhile...

_Location_: Central dome; Storehouse 9-B.

The applause was rampant as the communications' system finally booted up fully with a dull hum and ghostly pale blue light. Tali'Zorah grimaced at the little ceremony all the workers gave the bridge as she tried to finally open a channel with someone out there.. somewhere.

Though it's finally on line, the databanks were wiped – so she had to use channels which data she had already committed to memory or omni-tool. The expedition is a no-go now. And she had no idea how to contact the council... but she had an idea.

Tali typed in data meticulously, preparing to open a channel to the Migrant fleet – with the hope of contacting the Admirals. If any of her contacts got links to the Citadel Council, the Admiralty board's it.

"Could you please stand back?" Tali asked, trying to shoo the dôji around her away. All the synthetics in the storehouse were practically on top of her – it took a few seconds before they all backed off, one after another... most disappointed they wouldn't be able to see whoever she was going to contact close up.

Data loaded, she initiated the call. The gentle blue light from the projector licked chaotically at the air, as if struggling to decide which shape the light-show above it should take.

"Please be there.." she whispered in a low tone, and leaned in close as she repeated those words in her thoughts like a mantra. Of all people, she wanted to see no one more than her dad and aunt. "This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, calling from the reclaimed Uncovering path. I repeat, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, calling from the reclaimed Uncovering path. Please respond, over."

Tali gave it a little time to sink in before she went on to repeat – and finally got an answer; "Galactic news lists your ship as compromised – and your life as lost. Verify."

A silent sigh escaped her lips. She thought that would be the case. "Though in distant space, in the void between stars, my voice and heart still reach for the fleet - to where my journey began."

"Phrase checks out. Glad you're still with us, Tali'Zorah. Your inquiry?"

"I need to talk to Admiral Rael'Zorah or Admiral Shala'Raan – whoever is available."

"... The admiralty board is currently in session."

Tali closed her eyes and cursed under her breath, "Alright. I'll call again later. Just tell the aforementioned admirals that I called."

"Copy that, be safe Tali'Zorah."

"I will, Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai."

The link closed and let silence descend around her as she reclined against the captain's seat. That is, until a dôji wandered close to her. It was Jin; "What is your progress?"

"... Communications' system is fully functional. But I need some more time to find the appropriate channel to contact the embassies on the Citadel, and from there; the council. Just a little more effort."

The com dôji smiled, and tossed a food pack onto her lap, "The triumvirate's pleased with your progress. Keep it up."

"Any word from Sophia? Sorry, I'm just curious about what we dug up from that spire."

"Nothing yet. But right now whatever he finds is strictly on a need-to-know basis."

"Aw, that kind of thing." Tali shrugged as she fished up the ticket she got from Liara.

Jin looked mildly jealous, "A ticket for Service's upcoming concert? Lucky you~"

"Is he that good?"

"Yes, heavenly good. Plus, other aspects may sometimes participate and sing duet alongside him. It can be quite unpredictable – one of the reasons so many wants in. Heck, I want in. Make sure you don't miss it."

"Alright, I won't." Tali weighed the ticket back and forth in her hand before she put it back in the pocket of the overall she currently got on, and moved on to unravel the pack she had been given.

"Look at how time flies." Jin shrugged, "I'll come by later."

"Okay, later then." Tali whispered before she started on the meal. Sort of strange to feel this much at ease around synthetics, but she no longer had any reason to see them as an enemy. She hoped her people would view them the same way eventually – though she had no illusions that there will also be many who'll distrust them no matter what.

* * *

Sixteen minutes later...

_Location_: Southern dome. Upper limits.

The diminutive Avaro groaned as he passed through the relatively cramped space of the upper limits. The 'border' between the city and the ceiling of the cavern that the city was built in. Thousands of honeycombed pillars filled the space in to prevent the destruction that would've happened if the ceiling collapsed.

And for the first time in many decades, the danger of that happening seemed closer than ever – so the aspect of greed, who's stationed in this habitat for now along with fellow aspects Edile and Paresse, went to inspect the area. The footing rather uneven as the place kept trembling.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked the inevitable question, eyes on the bedrock above.

One of the minor dôji walking alongside him answered promptly, "About eleven hours it's been going on and off. There have been several cave ins, but nothing serious so far."

"Eh.." Avaro preferred to go about doing mischief with Edile. He hoped this thing would blow over soon, but a violent tremor followed – which made him fall to the floor with a light thud, along with most of those around him – which caused the bedrock across the whole area ahead of them to collapse entirely, which sent what seemed like hundreds of tons of rock crashing down. It was a miracle the upper limits held... But strangely, it did not even bend that much out of shape.

"Everyone okay?" one in the back shouted.

"Ugh, just fine." Avaro coughed as he got up and approached the new wall that now blocked their way. But before he could place his gauntlet against it... a small section of it popped open to reveal... a baleful red eye staring at them from just beyond it. The aspect simply stared back at it before he did the most natural thing as the prankster he is: He raised his gauntlet... and poked the thing's eye asunder, before he addressed the others as they realized what had caused the tremors all along, "Guys, I think we have a problem. Mobilize everyone who can fight, now."

The wall collapsed, and from it, a wall of entangled machines, with burning red optics and a multitude of sharp-clawed tentacles, appeared. Just beyond them was the faint signs of a giant machine.

Like a dam had broken, the wall turned into a tidal wave. But as things go, the first wave usually gets slaughtered.. which was also the case here as Avaro used his Noh to create enough duplicates of himself to counter-swarm and tear the wave apart, which bought him and everyone else in the area enough time to pull back and prepare a proper line of defense.

He's not exactly the smartest of the aspects, but he understood the situation well enough. Southern dome has been compromised. It spelled the end of this habitat.

* * *

Meanwhile...

_Location_: Southern dome; Food production plant.

The smell was strong as always. Each dome got a place where food is grown. Synthetic versions of the originals. They started it with the creation of organic materials, and then carefully built those into ingredients they eventually managed to put in mass-production, and gave the dôji another way to recharge energy – a very enjoyable way on top of that.

Paresse remained perfectly still in the same position he had been in for a long time – on top of a crate in the middle of the plant, his gaze fixed on the far wall as usual – until another tremor shook the place. The most violent one yet. "Hm?"

"Sir!" his personal com dôji hurried to him from the side, "We got trouble!"

"What a drag... What is it?"

"A report just came in. The Kurozu are invading the upper limits – through the bedrock. The tremors were caused by their digging."

At first, Paresse seemed unmoved.. until he – very slowly – hefted and pulled himself off the crate – to the shock of everyone nearby. Especially a few not far away, each more panicked than the last:

"Whoa, he moved-!"

"On his own accord!"

"For the first time in twenty years!"

"No way, he hasn't moved for that long?!"

"That's the aspect of Sloth for you!"

Ignoring them, Paresse looked to the equally shocked Gaston, "Southern dome's done for then."

"Uh-huh." Gaston's voice shook.

"Prepare for immediate evacuation of the entire dome. Send an engrave to the Core, for Ultimo to give us a way out." the aspect drawled whilst scratching his chin, "Children and their parents first. As for miscellaneous non-combatants, get them to bring along anything of importance before they follow suit. Library contents and stuff like that. Then all combatants last."

Gaston remained with that shock on his face - Paresse hadn't said this much all at once in decades – until he snapped to attention, "Y-yes, sir." and turned to run and spread the word. It only took seconds before it spread throughout the plant, all workers packing their things before they headed for the exit.

Paresse sighed, "This is such a drag." before he proceeded to leave the place himself – maintaining his lazy gait all the while. Even doom itself could not make Paresse summon the energy for anything more than that, and he was fine with that. He moves at his own pace, not that of everyone else.

* * *

Five minutes later...

_Location_: Western dome.

Jealousy since he returned had secluded himself in his office to continue his study of the technology he brought from the Empire state spire, with a lingering suspicion as to its fullest capability. A process he he went through methodically... disrupted only by a tiny shake of his table.

"Hrm... the tremors gone worse?"

He mumbled that to himself. It's been going on since last time he was here. Though its surface is decaying, Earth still lived to an extent. Calmly he raised his head to look at the ceiling, waiting for it to calm down again before he continued on his work...

"Sir!" a minor dôji burst into his office with enough suddenness to startle the focused aspect.

"What?!" Jealousy growled and checked the device over in hopes that the start did not damage it.

"T-the Kurozu just invaded Southern dome."

Jealousy stopped what he was doing, and let the machine fall dumbly onto the desk. This is what he had feared, that this technology could be used to detect and pin-point the location of their habitats. And with that, the tremors seemed that much more threatening. "Damn." he cursed. The only way their mortal enemy could get down into a dome is through digging... "What was going on before the attack started?"

"A lot of... earthquakes..."

The aspect slumped, "Signal a full evacuation to Central dome. Get our scouts in the air as close to the areas above the domes as possible. Find out what kind of forces they're mustering."

It was little more than a gesture. Now that the kurozu can find the domes, they most likely seek to force the dôji into a war of attrition they can't afford. Though the population's always rising, the current number of dôji are little more than fifteen million. The kurozu possess several hundred millions of machines, and that's just counting the combat units. Realistically, an all-out war on even grounds can end only one way.

This is bad... very bad.

* * *

Ten minutes later...

_Location_: Central dome; City Square.

Garrus tried to maintain a stoic expression, but it was unbearably hilarious to watch Saren fume like that. For all the expectations, all Liara and Tali could find in that place back in the Empire state spire was a set of coordinates the dôji are probably investigating now, but with none of them there to see.

They along with Nihlus sat around a table at one of the place's many restaurants. Before further words were exchanged, the waiter came – one who sported dark rings around his eyes, much like those Jealousy got, "Here you go. Lemme' tell you, the type of food you need is a pain in the bearings to acquire."

Nihlus adjusted his sitting position and leaned close to the platter he was given, sampling the aroma, "Nice. What was this called again?"

The waiter shrugged, "Komler with sausage.. Dextro-amino edition, of course. It'd bring shame on our restaurant if our customers suffer from poisoning or indigestion."

"Do dôji get that kind of thing?" Garrus asked as he unraveled one of the sausages on his platter with the alien utensils and sampled it, before he gave a nod in approval.

"Sometimes."

Saren watched them as though he expected the food to prove poisonous, but lowered his gaze when that proved not to be the case. He only opened his mouth once the waiter had left, "So much effort for nothing."

"Still sore about that, sir?" Nihlus raised his shoulders, "Who'd had known that the one we could had gotten the most intel from went in entirely in the opposite direction? Just bad luck. A huge case of it, but still."

Garrus grinned as he tried a piece from a komle. "Ah, I'm just glad we're still alive, though the battle wasn't all that eventful compared to the ops in the Gobi factory. That's one place I'd never go to again, even if you tied me to a wild Nathak." he paused, mandibles twitching, "Hm, the chefs here sure know their stuff."

"Yep. All of probably made in imitation of the food that were made by humans, not too shabby." Nihlus agreed, "Come on, Saren. It'll get cold."

The elder spectre's attention was nowhere near the food however, "It's getting rather crowded."

"Rush hour?"

"No. Look."

Garrus looked to the street, and found a column of synthetics that wandered past in steadily increasing numbers. He initially thought it was the preparation for another army, until he noticed all the children mixed into the crowd. Some of the grown ups appeared damaged.

"Perhaps they're mustering for another battle?" Nihlus half-observed.

"No." Garrus responded in the negative, "See those kids?"

"Then what's going on?"

At that moment, quite a lot more synthetics arrived from the opposite direction to tend to the crowd. One among them noticed the turians and approached. By then, Garrus had no trouble recognizing him; "Promina?"

"Didn't expect to see you over here. Enjoying local cuisine?"

Nihlus shrugged, "That's about the size of it. Now, what's the trouble?"

"... These are refugees."

"From where?" Saren asked irritably, "Get to the point."

"From Western and Southern domes. They're under attack, a full evacuation's ongoing."

"You're not going to fight back...?"

"That's what the kurozu are trying to force us into, but we can't engage them in an all-out war of attrition. But till now, they've never been able to locate our cities."

Garrus' gaze fell to the table, "So they could find this place too?"

Promina looked rather uncertain, "I... don't have all the data. But I guess so."

"Hrm..." he pushed his chair back and got up, "Then I better go find Liara, then head over to Tali."

"Keep them safe, Garrus."

"I will. Nihlus, Saren, you coming along?"

Saren was silent for a moment, "Warehouse 9-B, was it? We'll meet you there."

Satisfied with that, Garrus left. And hoped the traffic won't become too bad as the number of refugees continued to increase dramatically. Ultimo was in a tremendous hurry, it appeared. Here's hoping the enemy won't get here too fast.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later...

_Location_: Central dome; Storehouse 9-B.

"Tali...!" It was pure gratification to hear her voice again. Auntie Raan looked like she was on the verge of tears, "When we heard you made contact earlier, we could not believe it."

"I made it, somehow." Tali said quietly, "Dad, auntie Raan. It's good to see you."

"And you're speaking from the bridge of the Uncovering path." Rael'Zorah stated with some disbelief, "Galactic news outlets said it was captured or destroyed by a terrible synthetic enemy."

"It was. But we reclaimed it with the help of new friends we made along the way." she debated with herself on whether not not to tell about the dôji. But one thing was much more important at this time. She truly desired to converse with her family more, to tell them about everything she and the others' been through. Alas, with the most recent news; time is of the essence: "But right now we got a very urgent issue, and I need your help."

Her father fixed her with his gaze. He straightened himself to act very much like the admiral he is, "Hold on, Tali. First..."

"Father. We don't have much time, the enemy is on the move. I'm alive now, but that will change if we don't get what we need soon. It's urgent."

"What is it you require, Tali?" Shala'Raan asked, her voice shaky.

"A channel to the Citadel. Embassies, the council, whatever. The fleet still got some contact with Citadel space, right? Right?"

The admirals exchanged glances, "What is going on, Tali?"

"I'll tell you everything later, when I get more time for it. Right now, haste is needed. If it's not done soon, we will all die... and the galaxy will be in serious shit. Please."

"..." Rael'Zorah scrutinized her closely, "The galaxy, huh? Give me a threat assessment."

"More dangerous than the geth, father." Tali summed it up, "If you knew half of what I've seen, you'd need a new suit."

Her dad and aunt looked to one another again. "Alright. We do possess a direct channel to the Citadel tower. Though usually it's only used by the council to contact us during disputes. I can't promise they'll respond."

"To not respond would be the peak of idiocy, father. They must listen. In terms of brutality and cruelty, the kurozu are peerless."

Admiral Rael'Zorah gave a grave nod and opened his omni-tool, to transfer the data. It took a few seconds, but finally the data entered the ship's computer, which she downloaded into her own omni-tool summarily. "Here you go. For what it is worth, good luck."

"Please be safe, Tali." auntie Raan told her.

"Father, aunt. Thank you." Tali watched as the image faded. Conversation ended. Now all she could do was wait for the triumvirate to get here. They would as soon as evacuation's complete.

* * *

Thirty minutes later...

_Location_: Central dome; Storehouse 9-B entrance.

It was done, though vast the effort – the evacuation was carried out and finished with relatively few casualties. But Ultimo could now barely stand as he limped along, supported by a pair of minor dôji. One of which helped him eat more food to assist in recovery.

"You doing fine, Ultimo?" Milieu asked in concern as he slowed down to a halt.

The fellow grand aspect barely nodded, "Y-yeah, mm, I can deal..."

Vice made a half-mocking snort, "Such a wreck after just four million people."

"Oh, I'd l-like to see _you_ try."

"Don't fight." Milieu groaned, "This is neither the time nor place."

The two others shrugged as they moved on.. until they were just a couple of steps away from the entrance to the main storeroom, when Jin suddenly barged in through the main entrance, "Sirs, sirs!"

"Stop shouting, we're right here.." Vice growled in annoyance. "What the hell is it?"

Jin bowed apologetically, "I'm sorry." his eyes landed on Milieu next, who regarded him curiously, "I've gotten news. Sophia just finished preliminary investigation of the new-found facility."

"What's in it?" Ultimo asked, "New stealth technology?"

"Weapons?" Vice added to the list. Two of a large number of things they hoped would be down there.

"Neither, sirs." Jin noted, "The thing stored inside it, is a ship. It's not a laboratory or armory, Project Tenjo facility is a top secret shipyard that were from the looks of it, built and sustained by private corporations."

"A ship." Milieu echoed, "What kind of ship?"

"Um, a space colony. Unlike most of mankind, the corporations that ran the program still had an enormous interest of keeping a space program running. With a ship like that, and the ability to colonize far-off worlds as the ultimate price-"

"- If they had such a ship... why did the humans not use it?"

"It's unfinished, and unfit for prolonged human habitation. Due to the desire to maintain secrecy, they halted the project many times, and generally put it together slowly – to evade notice."

The grand aspect took a few steps away from the door, gauntlet under his chin as he thought about it. Despite some instabilities, such as war, Earth used to be like a paradise. Advanced purification systems that restored and maintained the planet's environment, solutions that provided a limitless source of energy, and medical capabilities that could heal and treat anything short of reviving the dead. With all that in their pockets, humanity lost all interest in the space program, and generally saw it as a waste of resources. The booster frames among others were among the last few official projects before it was shut down. Anything space-related afterward were done in silence, without the knowledge of the mainstream populace. And this ship in Tenjo facility's apparently one of them.

But its existence gave them some new options; "Is it fit for dôji habitation?"

"... Yes, looks like it."

"Then it seems, we now got a backdoor option on the table. How many can it carry?"

"Don't know. Sophia and the others are checking the ship's interior as we speak. Should have a fair estimate soon."

Milieu looked like he was about to do some counting, about artifacts and facilities that need to be dismantled and brought along if it truly came to using the space colony, but stopped at the sight of Ultimo shivering at the thought of the momentous effort it would take. "We got more options then. But we'll only use it if necessary."

"There is one more thing, sir." Jin carefully said.

Vice sighed, "Speak the hell up, we don't have all day."

"Um, it's about the engine and reactor. Though vastly different in design and size... it's the same type as the systems on the Uncovering sight. Element zero tech. W-we don't know yet if it was just a coincidence... or..."

"Worry about that later. All it means right now, is that we'll need Tali's assistance in this."

"Exactly that." Milieu murmured, but raised his voice when he readdressed Jin, "Thank you for the news. But for now, keep the knowledge of the ship completely secret. We don't want a panic."

"Of course, sir." the com dôji bowed, gratified – then turned to leave.

"As for us..." Milieu paced to the door and entered the storeroom with a shove, "We got our work to do."

The fellow grand aspects smiled in each their way and followed. It did not take long to arrive at the bridge, where Tali still waited. Upon seeing them, she got up and came closer; "I've got the data. We can begin dialing the Citadel anytime you're ready."

"Thank you for your hard work. I hope we can trust in your continued help later on."

"Of course. But what-"

Milieu brushed her off. Both eager and anxious for the task ahead, "Later. Right now we got a galaxy to contact."

* * *

Meanwhile...

_Location_: The Citadel; Council chambers.

Another stressful meeting was over, and the councilors were on their way to take a break in one of the backrooms. Tevos absolutely fumed for a change, to her colleagues' great surprise. Between batarian demands to have the Verge declared as a zone of interest, and lack of time to grieve for her old friend Benezia, had left her in a particularly foul mood – and a break's no nearly enough for that, to her unending chagrin.

But it seemed like this quiet would not last as one of their aides hurried to approach, "Councilors, we've just received the most peculiar call."

"What is it?" Sparatus growled. Tevos and Valern halted mid-step to listen.

"Um, there's someone who claims to be a survivor of Benezia's expedition who wants to see you. Says it's urgent."

Tevos could not quite believe her ears, "A survivor? But Desolas said they all died..."

"Maybe one of them were off-world." Valern helpfully suggested.

Sparatus was not as quick to consider it though, "Maybe it's just a farce. Which channel was used?"

The aide rechecked, "The one used for the migrant fleet."

"Farce then."

"Wait a second. What is the identity of the one who called?" Tevos tried.

"She referred to herself as Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, councilor." the aide replied, "According to the crew list of the expedition, there is indeed a quarian member by that name."

"So..." Valern muttered, deep in thought, "After the slaughter, she somehow managed to contact the migrant fleet.. then used their channel to contact us."

"It would seem that way." Tevos nodded. It could still be false, but right now she felt optimistic about it being legit, "False or not, we should check it out."

* * *

Five minutes later...

_Location_: Citadel tower; Audience chamber.

"Keelah... finally a response."

Tevos was surprised, as were the others. They stood at each respective podium, facing the projector before them, upon which the image of the quarian without her environmental suit stood. Dressed in an overall with her head fully exposed. Valern and Sparatus were especially speechless, it's their first time seeing a quarian's face, and hers as well. The way her name currently is, she's predictably young – yet with eyes filled with abundant experience. Since her colleagues' tongues appeared stuck, Tevos took the lead with a cough; "This is a very unusual meeting, Tali'Zorah. If the circumstances were any different..."

"... You wouldn't have agreed to this meeting. I'm aware. I am sorry for taking up your important time, but time's not on our side."

"Our? Oh, you're a member of Saren's team?"

"What?!" Sparatus barked finally with the rediscovery of his tongue, "Where is he?"

"Not present." Tali appeared apologetic, hand against the back of her head, "I arranged this on the behalf of some who would very much like to speak with you. Specifically, those who have kept us safe up till now." The quarian looked elsewhere, as if to address someone else.

"You mean...?" Tevos asked.

Without another word, the quarian pulled away and out of sight. And was replaced by a trio of beings that were probably those Tali referred to. The asari councilor looked them over.. the one in the middle and to the left looked very beautiful, while the one to the right looked much rougher around the edges.

"Greetings." the middle one said calmly with a subtle bow of his head, "This may be sudden, but..."

"You're dôji... right?" She asked. Sparatus and Valern both stared at her, then shifted their gazes back on the synthetics, expressions grim.

The mostly silver-colored dôji blinked, and collapsed the fan resting in his gauntlets, "Yes. But how do you know about us?"

"Matriarch Benezia along with members of her crew encountered one of your kind on the fourth planet."

"Ah, you've seen Slow? We've not heard from him since he left to investigate your operation on Mars. Pardon, but we were curious and wary of your work and intentions."

Tevos struggled not to shout. Desolas' report was clear; "She's dead, along with the entirety of her expedition. She trusted the one you called Slow, but were betrayed and killed."

The color seemed to drain from the synthetic's face. Though she was angry, could not help but marvel at how much those synthetics could mimic organic life. He seemed genuinely disturbed, "Slow is among the virtuous among our aspects. He would never had done such a thing."

"Of that, we only have your words. Now tell me, who are you?"

"... I am Milieu, Grand Aspect of the Dôji. I were built to embody humankind's ultimate capacity for reason. These are my fellow Grand Aspects, Ultimo and Vice." he gestured to those standing next to him. The red-haired one bowed briefly, while the rough one smirked slightly. "They embody humankind's ultimate capacity for good and evil respectively." - "We along with sixteen minor aspects are – together - essentially the government of our people. But for various reasons cannot attend. Slow, the aspect of Diligence for example, is missing."

Tevos and the others frowned at the synthetics. "Lies." Sparatus snorted, "Tevos spoke of your supposed conflict, but you're just one side. One attack head-on, while you manipulate the naive, then stab them in the back."

"What did you say?" Vice asked as anger grabbed him.

"That you cannot be trusted. We will not make the same mistake Benezia did. The same mistake Tali'Zorah and her team are making right now."

"Vice, please..." Milieu placed a gauntlet solidly on the evil one's shoulder to restrain him, "We are not trying to deceive anyone, councilor. It's only words, but I beg of you to trust us. We are in the middle of a huge crisis because of your expedition's meddling into our war with the kurozu - and now, desperately need your help to finish it once and for all."

"Bah, so that's it huh..." Sparatus seemed to have his mind set, "You seek to draw our forces out, and into a trap."

Tevos nodded, a glance aimed at her colleagues was enough to conclude that they're all in agreement; "I believe our conversation is over. Milieu, make no mistake... we are currently blockading your system. Any attempt to leave your territory will be seen and recognized as a declaration of war. Tali'Zorah, I apologize, I'm afraid you and your comrades are on your own. Please forgive us, cause we have a whole galaxy to consider."

Milieu took a step forward; "Councilor, please..."

With but a press of a button, the connection was terminated.

* * *

Location: Central dome; Warehouse 9-B.

Milieu stared as the light from the projector died down. He simply stared, blankly. Ultimo patted his back comfortingly in the face of this sudden rejection. Shocked, but not overly so... he turned.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Ultimo asked the most important question as he left to comfort Tali, whose shock looked a great deal worse. She did think the possibility was great for an outright rejection. But thinking of what could happen and actually experiencing it is completely different. The quarian practically stared death in the eye, poor thing.

He stopped to ponder. Support from the Citadel had gone up in smoke, fully and completely. The warehouse around them turned completely silent. The answer became clear when Jin suddenly came back – with an urgent message from the looks of it; "Sirs, the kurozu just attacked Eastern dome."

Vice swore quietly, "Ultimo?"

"I hear..." the dôji of good shuddered, "I'm on i-"

Milieu reached his decision, "Evacuate both Eastern and Northern domes, Ultimo. Maximize our defenses here, Vice. Tomorrow, once we receive Sophia's full report and all of dôjidom are assembled... I will make the announcement."

The surrounding people all appeared taken aback by this, even Vice.

"As it stands, we no longer stand a chance to win this war in our current condition. Not with the advantages the enemy now have. Tali, I... no, _we_ all need your help – to make the newly discovered spacecraft - Tenjo - fully space-worthy in two days at the soonest. Five days at the latest. For the sake of our people's continued survival – even if it turns the entirety of the galaxy against us – we have no other choice than to abandon this planet. And hope we can make it through the blockade... and hope it can keep the kurozu contained."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Hope and Sorrow**

* * *

_Date_: Morning on 11th April, 3757 A.D.

_Location_: Central Dome, the Core.

"- You can't believe what a mess it was. The roof was coming down everywhere!"

Avarro prattled away continuously to a largely disinterested audience. The only one paying any attention to him was Paresse, who seemed more interested in falling asleep. Jealousy sat on Avarro's other side, annoyed and distracted.

Most of the aspects had arrived, all of them quite sick and tired of the bad news that have piled up over these recent times. Now, they waited for Sophia... the only one who might shed some hope on this bleak situation.

At his elevated platform sat Milieu, who looked over all that had gathered – only two people away from a full meeting. Two spots that made the virtues seem greatly diminished. Each dôji sat on his own platform, seats arranged in a triangle, all facing the middle of this great chamber. With the exception of Avarro, the Core was quiet – if one did not count the occasional squeals that came from the collar of Pardonner's suit as his child tried to get him to play with him.

Hikari's cries were easily ignorable though. Less so the aspect of greed, who droned on without interruption until someone's patience would finally give.

"Avarro, shut your face!" Vice snarled harshly, "You've been prattling for an hour!"

Milieu secretly appreciated it, as the incessant talk stilled in an instant. Normally, Ultimo would chastise Vice for his harshness... but the good dôji still sat like he was about to collapse at any minute. It had taken him enormous amount of energy to transport all to the Central dome. A titanic effort that left his flame-maned comrade severely drained. A few selected cooks out in the city currently worked on some big high-energy meal for Ultimo to take in. But there was little time.. he needed to recover fast.

Eventually, a com dôji strode over to Ultimo and whispered into his ears. To which he responded with a twitch, and caused a brilliant but chaotic burst of light in front of them... from which Sophia finally appeared - stumbling as if the spatial ball had spat him out.

The aspect of wisdom awkwardly brushed imaginary dust off his clothes as he straightened up, and coughed: "At last, present and accounted for. My apologies for the lateness."

"It's fine." Milieu told him, and stifled whatever laughter had erupted from the other aspects with an overbearing glance before his attention landed fully on Sophia, "Now let us begin with no further ado."

"Yes." he then proceeded to pull an item out of the coat he wore on top of his kimono. A small device he promptly activated – from which the holographic schematics of the ship they had found was put on display.

Milieu raised a delicate eyebrow at the image. The craft was primarily vertically aligned, much taller than it is long – shaped to faintly resemble the wing of a bird. In the middle ran a large equally vertically aligned oval hole... which seemed impractical at first glance.

Sophia was silent as all took it in before he finally coughed and called attention back to himself, "Now where to begin. As you can see, it was very exotically designed – specifically to outwardly resemble the craft it was based on, only much bigger. The original was discovered at an unknown location in the Antarctica by special interest groups that handed it over to corporate groups. Eventually, as they studied its technologies, it was decided to pool their resources to build this. During the entirety of this process, it was kept strictly secret."

"Why did they keep it secret?" Jealousy applied his question with a raised claw.

"My pardon." Sophia coughed, "Secrecy was maintained to avoid interference from the mainstream public as most of humanity was introverted back then. They preferred the bubble they lived in before the discomfort of the unknown. To the open mind, such a world is little but a cage.. so those with open minds inevitably dreamed of leaving the world to build up something more to their liking."

Regula hummed with much approval, "Adventurous spirits be forever praised."

"And that is why Tenjo turned out like this. To serve as the temporary home of as many people at possible – all at once. Instead of building a fleet, they decided on just one craft – one that could do everything. But as you can see... they failed to finish it before the kurozu overran the world. It could had been finished a long time before the war, but the project was stalled and postponed several times to evade notice."

Indeed, the picture showed gaping holes in its hull. Mostly located along its rear. Milieu was concerned by these structural weaknesses. Worried that it might be torn to pieces if overly strained. But he did not mention said fears.

Facing no questions right now, Sophia continued:

"Our crews are working hard to ready the ship for launch and departure. Tali leading the effort quite diligently. For now, they are right on schedule."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Vice nodded; "Excellent, keep it that way."

The minor aspect bowed curtly, "It shall be done. But, that said..." his smile faded, replaced by a grave frown, "I got some bad news."

Milieu tensed as he braced himself for whatever would come next. "Yes?"

Sophia's stared at the floor with clear resignation, hesitant for but a moment. "There's not enough room for everyone... some will have no choice but to stay."

Those assembled were stunned by this revelation. It was a terrible thought.. as anyone who'd have to stay behind would inevitably be hunted down and killed by the kurozu. It is nothing less than a death sentence. The grand aspect swallowed nervously, "How many?"

Sophia raised his head, and they locked eyes with one another. It was a long stare that plainly told him: _Too many for anyone's comfort_.

And when the aspect of wisdom finally told them the number, it was all many of them could do to not be gripped by shock.

* * *

_Three hours later..._

_Location: _Central dome, downtown.

The announcement had been made, and all of dôjidom now knew about Tenjo. The now heavily overpopulated Central dome turned into a blur of movement as all prepared for mass evacuation. Crews stacked up on artifacts and equipment that had to be brought along in specific locations, included the contents of the Vault, deemed irreplaceable by the synthetic species as a whole.

It was all Garrus and the others could do to remain as a largely motionless island in an ocean of dôji in constant flux. The turian sat there with a hand on Liara's back. He watched her grimly as she wept, shattered by the news of her mother's death.

"M-mom, I'm s-sorry..." the asari cried, trembling like a leaf while tears flowed freely – dripping upon the ground below.

Garrus felt helpless to soothe her pain. All he could do was be there. "Liara, there's no need to apologize. Friction always happen between parent and child. I am... sure... that wherever she is now, harbor no ill will for what you did."

"But if I had stayed with her..."

"You'd be dead too." he told her matter of fact.

Liara tried to wipe her tears away, "I... I want to take them down... the kurozu. Every last one of them."

"Who doesn't?" Garrus lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Pointless exercise at this time." Nihlus muttered. "We need a much bigger army to put a dent in their numbers. But as long as the council refuse to deal with the problem, we won't be seeing that anytime soon. Besides... we're probably out of work."

"Yeah, the council must have revoked our Spectre credentials by now. So we ain't got any more political clout than the average turian. So I'd say our asses are doomed now."

Saren was unusually quiet. The old guy sat there still as a statue, staring blankly at no one in particular. Could handle most things, but not the prospect of a career change.

Out of camaraderie, Nihlus patted him on the back. "Hey, it's not the end of the world... yet. There's always the private eye business."

"It's not the same." the old turian soberly groaned.

"Heh, yeah. Ain't gonna be as much of a chick magnet as we used to be."

Garrus managed to chuckle despite himself, "That's for sure. We're all going through a tough time."

"... What is going on now anyway?" Saren hissed lowly, narrowing his eyes at a part of the crowd as the chaos boiled away – an almost military order overcame them as they respectfully parted to allow a single person through.

Liara looked up, her eyes red. "I'm guess.. an aspect is coming."

Her guess was largely proven correct as Pardonner appeared right by their table, his expression glazed over till he acknowledged the organics. "Just the people I wanted to see... May I sit here?"

"Sure." Garrus offered, pulling a chair out for the synthetic to.

"Thank you..." the aspect looked a little wobbly as he sat down, much to the noticeable unease of his son, who squirmed inside the pocket he's in.

"What is wrong?"

As if to answer the question, something moved into the street. A booth from the look of it, which was carried in and placed roughly in the middle of the crowd. Its' carriers left the moment they had placed it. On the booth, many digital fliers hovered. Each of which looked like a contract, with a ring-shaped object that hovered across the lower half of the flier.

Many dôji closed ranks around it to read, followed by the eruption of conversations about what they read. Some of it was pretty heated, between bond mates no less.

Interested, he set his visor to magnify. The close look was largely fruitless though, the fliers were written in sophisticated and fanciful letters that could only had been flashier if accompanied by neon-lights, fireworks and a thousand dancing krogan.

"Hrm... what does that say?"

Pardonner nearly stammered his answer; "It's about the single greatest complication about the Tenjo's launch. Its engines need to warm up for nearly two hours before take-off."

"And you're afraid the kurozu will notice?"

"They most certainly will. Those fliers are requests for volunteers. Because of the sheer number of enemies that may come bearing down on us, along with non-existent defenses in the open – it's suicide." the aspect lowered his head against the table, as if to hide his face. "But... that is not the only reason." his voice now a whisper. "We can't bear to tell them that..."

"That?" Liara parroted.

It was clear that Pardonner was just short of weeping, "The Tenjo doesn't have enough room for everyone. We are talking about at least a couple hundreds of thousands that will have no choice but to stay... and die."

"But you need defenders anyway."

"Doesn't lessen the burden. We are most frightened by the possibility of such light resistance that too many survive and expect to be taken on board just before launch... only to be abandoned."

At the booth, one decided to stick his gauntlet through the ring in one of the fliers, and held position until the ring collapsed upon the gauntlet and turned into a bright-purple band – the mark of the volunteer in this case. The brave dôji in question raised it into the air to show off in a way that clearly told; _This is the proof of my determination to protect those dear to me!_

As if inspired by this one's example, several more moved in and repeated what he did. Each holding up their band-clad gauntlets in due turn. Things like that is probably happening all over the city now.

Pardonner watched this too, before he once again lowered his face and let his tears come out. His body trembling.

"Your people are courageous, Pardonner." Garrus grinned approvingly, "Maybe too many, though that ain't exactly a bad thing."

"I'm ashamed of the necessity of this act." the aspect sniffed, covertly reading as initial results came in. It had barely been a quarter since the booths were moved into the city... and already no less than forty thousand had volunteered. It made the last of his stoicism burst, "And... I am so proud, so very proud of them."

As it went on, advertisements ran across the screens above. All sorts of events were going to be rushed to take place tonight, including Service's concert. It was meant to bring an evening of joy and plenty for those who would fight on the front line. For by the end of tomorrow... they might all be dead.

* * *

_Five hours later..._

_Location_: Mt. Everest, Tenjo, Engine room.

"So it will start right this evening? That's such a bummer."

"Quite."

Tali sighed, lifting her gaze to stare up along the engine that stretched up in the distance – though it is more correct to call it a _part_ of said engine that circled around the opening that ran through the middle of Tenjo, which is its propulsion system. Similar to some Asari ships with similar systems, which were based on Prothean ships. Of most particular note among them was the Destiny Ascension. "I'm cooped up here then, while the others get to party."

Jin shrugged, "Join the club. It got close to four thousand members already."

"Don't get me wrong. It's an amazing ship. Its tech, scale, and so much empty space."

"You... like ships?"

"It comes with being a quarian."

"Hm... alright then. How's things going here?"

"Not much problem with the engine. It will be made ready before the night passes."

"Good."

"Just... hey, where are you going?"

Jin had motioned to leave the section, "I can not dilly-dally here. Got to check the other sections' progress so I can report back to HQ. Keep it up."

"Oh sure." Tali cocked her head and slumped, before someone landed on the railing just behind her, "That you Koala?"

"Aye. You required my assistance?"

"Yes. Need some help with a bit of heavy-lifting. Got a coupling I need to check"

"Would love to help, ma'am. Where do you need me?"

_Such a helpful bunch.._ "Right over there." she gestured to a place blocked by a stack of heavy materials.

Koala lunched himself past her in a single leap, "On it. I'll clear it in a jiffy."

Tali patiently watched as the dôji went to work. Waiting for when path finally opens for her to go and have at her omni-tool's next target in earnest.

* * *

_Another five hours later..._

_Location_: Central dome, Concert hall.

_Yes, we should go too. It'll be fun._

She wondered idly if her past self would have said the same thing if she had known what it would be like.

Liara was at a complete loss. She and the others had just gotten past the entrance hall of the Concert building downtown when the crowd suddenly panicked for reasons she could not discern. Dôji surged forward in great numbers, and the guards stationed there just barely managed to maintain a semblance of order, but not before the turians had been pulled away and vanished from sight.

She tried to find them again, but with the sheer number of excited bodies, it was all she could do to keep her head above the tides... till she tripped and landed in someone's arms, "G-Garrus?" The name just slipped from her lips, though it was a decidedly smaller figure with gauntlets that just caught her.

"It's me." the synthetic half-hissed as he held her. A very familiar voice, "This ain't no place for a fainting spell, so snap outta it."

"Promina?" Liara asked, relieved as he began to move with a clear direction in mind, "We need to find the others. They're still out there."

"I've got my hands full at the moment."

He led her through the crowd till they emerged into a giant chamber filled with flickering colorful lights. The concert already underway. Upon the stage on the far side of the dance floor that dominated most of the chamber, stood Service. The already beautiful dôji was made even more exotic in this lighting as he sang a song that included a whole lot of 'Getcha good!' phrases. Liara was mildly transfixed it and everything else that was going on. Despite what the future held, the synthetics partied like there was nothing to worry about. All the while, Promina continued to pull her along – to the left, to an miraculously unoccupied table.

"S-sure is crowded here." Liara commented on the mass of people. A crowd of dôji with purple bands, and many more without that seemed to be here partially or exclusively to keep the brave volunteers company.

"Of course." Promina sighed, "This place wasn't built for so many, but they squeezed right in anyway."

Nearby a flanging voice pierced the crowd as one of the turians finally managed to show up, "Ah, finally.."

The asari turned in the hope of seeing Garrus, but instead found it to be a particularly grumpy Saren.

"Is that some new turian fad?" the com dôji inquired, sounding amused. It took a second before Liara saw what he had pointed out and nearly doubled over.

Someone had sprayed a thick layer of cream on top of Saren's head – topped with what looked like some sort of herb. The turian took one of the handkerchiefs on the table and wiped it all away, "I'd say it is the result of terrible humor." before he sat down, though not without a furtive glance thrown past his shoulder now and then.

Liara caught the sight of some other synthetic approaching them, but thought nothing of it. The atmosphere was so mesmerizing that she thought it to be playing tricks on her mind. "Where are the others?"

"Got separated along the way." Saren growled softly. "Guards' ain't no help."

"They have their hands full just keeping order." Promina waved the worry away, "I'm sure they're okay. If you made it, then they will too."

"Hey, eyes here." the table shook as a dôji that struck Liara as vaguely familiar arrived and placed gauntlets covered with fascination imagery of flowers on the table – with a purple band around the left one. It took a moment before the pieces finally fell into place, she _had_ seen this one before: One of Rosa's 'bunnies'. His kimono was colored a brilliant indigo, with alluring azure eyes, and knee-length red mane so expansive it needed numerous scrunchies to keep from flowing wild.

But most notable, he acted as though she and Saren was not even here, while he loomed over Promina who was rather taken aback – cheeks a little red. "Um... h-have we met?"

"Name's Hira. And yes, we've met. Right back at the brothel you visited with that asari gal." Hira said and gestured for the com dôji to follow, "Now, come with me."

"Now, wait just a minute." Liara interjected.

Hira shrugged dismissively, "Oh, you organics' here too? A good advice; don't butt in."

"Er... I'm sort of here with my friends at present..." Promina stuttered. "So..."

"Ain't got all the time in the world, little fruit. You ain't gonna let someone dance by all himself, would you?"

"N-no, of course not.. But I'm no dancer."

"Then I'll teach you about that too while at it. Now be cute and come along."

Promina shifted uncomfortably before he finally decided to stand up and go along with him, "O-okay."

Hira grinned and wrapped an arm around the com dôji's waist once he came within range, "Good." then lead him down to the dance floor.

All the while, Liara stared at the synthetics' backs as they vanished into the crowds. She could not help but be worried. Her mother had often warned her about Saren however took this in stride and leaned forward slightly, "That out of the way, do they sell food here?"

* * *

"Um..." Promina's awkwardly stutter barely made it to the air as the music changed in tune for the slower.

Amusement colored Hira's expression as he turned and wrapped an arm around Promina's waist while the other grabbed a hand and held it at shoulder-height, "Hush. Let's take it slow first. Match my steps now... One, two, three. One, two, three. Don't be tense, exhale and relax. There, there you go..."

Promina laughed uncomfortably as he tried to follow the other dôji's pace, though clumsily. He stepped on Hira's feet more than once, though it only made him look all the more endearing.

"How cute... if only I had more time on my hands. I could have taught you so~ much."

He looked to the lily-covered gauntlet with a purple band around it and felt his figurative heart drop. "W-why devote precious time on me instead of your comrades?"

Hira hummed softly, "Actually, they are doing exactly what I'm doing." and leaned slightly closer, which made the com dôji squirm as a strange sensation crossed his chest. "This fight tomorrow might be the end of us, that much any of us can tell. So what they and I are searching for... is a measure of motivation that will make us fight for more than just the survival of our people. The motivation only a desire to protect that very precious someone can bring." He had lowered his voice to a whisper no louder than a breath, his eyes twinkling. "And more beyond that.. if possible."

Promina swallowed nervously, his cheeks becoming even redder with a sort of understanding. This coloring of his cheeks immediately made Hira coo.

"There are dôji of most shapes of form, but those with featureless faces that can only show their mood and expressions through colors and gestures are – from where I stand – _so_ adorable."

His face turned pink as he suddenly felt a wall behind him. Hira had without his notice maneuvered him into it, and now loomed over him with a sultry smirk. The proximity of this vixen of a dôji, accompanied by the scent coming from the very same body, which engineered a powerful longing in the core of his being. Still, he dared not make a move. Promina stood there, frozen, staring into those beautiful eyes - so deep that he felt like he could drown in them.

"This place has gotten rather stuffy... hasn't it?" Hira continued. It was as though his voice was enchanted, "So, how about we head for my apartment for some... fun?"

Promina swallowed nervously, his chest ached - an agony that was wholly new and fascinating. It transcended both fear and lust at the same time to an extreme. He knew it was overly sudden.. but he couldn't help but feel like he was falling in love. "Y-y-yes please."

Hira almost immediately snaked the arm at Promina waist around his shoulders and led him away from the dance floor, "Good~"

* * *

Liara watched from the edge of the edge of the dance floor as the situation between Promina and Hira developed and escalated with a focused frown.

"You're really gonna do this, aren't you?" Garrus asked from behind her.

"Of course. That Hira is of just the type of people my mother always warned me about."

"Promina doesn't seem to have a problem with him anyway."

"I don't trust that guy, that's all."

"So you're going to chaperone those guys from the shadows then? Boy, you sure are taking this seriously. Do you even think you got the strength to restrain that guy if it turns ugly?"

"My biotics can help. It worked on an aspect, so it should work even better on a minor dôji. Now let's go. They're leaving."

"Yes, yes. So much for this concert you dragged us along for."

* * *

_Twenty minutes later..._

_Location_: Central dome, 56th street.

They were being followed, that much Promina noticed, and Hira either hadn't noticed, or did notice but did not care. For the moment, he was staring at Hira from the corner of his eyes almost dreamily along the way as words were exchanged between them - names, what the other liked and enjoyed, and so on - till they finally branched into a building and went up to its third floor.

"Here we are." Hira told him with a grin as they finally arrived in his apartment, which door he locked once they had gotten inside. "Make yourself at home... right over there."

It was a small apartment. Just two rooms from the look of it. All tossed together. But immediately at the far end he could see the bed, where he went and sat down. It was surprisingly soft to the touch... so soft it nearly made him fall over as he sank into it.

A soft chuckle echoed through the room as Hira closed in, "Careful now." while removing the scrunchies from his hair and let it flow wild and freely. "Don't want you to disappear on me."

"Um... I..." he faintly trembled as he leaned back against the mattress. His own bed back home was not nearly as pliable as this. It took a moments to get used to.

"Oh, hush.." Hira whispered as he came closer and gently nudged the com dôji down, and proceeded to follow him onto the bed, positioning himself directly above his quarry, and straddled him. For all intents and purposes, with his widespread and flowing mane, it was as though Promina had indeed vanished from sight as Hira bore down on him. "This might be sudden, but would you like to enter a contract with me - till death do us apart?"

Turbulent was Promina's mind as he heard those words. He clenched his mind as he thought hard of it. Till death do them apart. This contract would not even last a day. But still, Promina was intensely flattered by the proposal. Along with Hira's interest in him. _I never thought someone like you would even notice one such as me.._ His face was colored a mixture of blue and red in a mix of sorrow and joy, as well as the currently ever-present hue of pink at what was about to happen. He paused to think, but it only lasted a second before he replied in the positive, "Y-yes... I'd love to."

Hira allowed himself a grin as he reached up and pushed Promina's kimono off just enough to expose his chest before doing it to himself as well. "Then let us consummate our bond right here, right now.. in preparation for a new soul to see the light of day."

Without any further ado aside from a brief hiss, Hira lowered himself just an inch further, and met Promina chest to chest – which made a vertical slit open up on either side.

The com dôji let a shrill gasp escape him. His partner had probably done this many times before already, but the far more inexperienced Promina barely managed to restrain his excitement as pleasure bolted through him. Below their field of vision – their eyes focused intensely on one another – the slits began to glow a brilliant white as their respective spirit spheres reacted to the newly begun mating process. The openings spread apart even further with each prompting as Hira rubbed his chest against Promina's ever so slowly, which made the glow all the stronger. To the untrained eye, a dôji's spirit sphere looked no different than a marble of glass – perfectly round and borderline transparent. But looking closer, an array of cables were attached to the back, and data continually streamed just below the clear surface.

Minutes passed by, and Promina felt like he was going to drown in the ecstasy at any moment - yet the feeling increased as their spheres fully emerged and closed in on one another... till they touched. It was a simply touch, yet it felt as though they overlapped one another. The pleasure almost instantly exploded into euphoria.

It was glorious. The moment just stretched on an on in waves of bliss so strong that he genuinely felt he never wanted it to end.

As it went on, he felt energy being transferred into his body. He did not offer even the slightest resistance, and let it course through his slender form till it settled in his left arm.

Promina writhed slightly in undisguised delight till he finally... as though overloaded by the sheer amount of input... closed his eyes and lost consciousness.

* * *

"Told you already... He ain't going to hurt him." Jealousy told her with a shrug.

It was by simple coincidence that they met an aspect along the way. Liara only knew he was one because Garrus pointed him out as one. As far as aspects went, Jealousy stood out with the black rings around his pink-colored eyes, and the six transparent visors that hovered around them – three on each side. "Are you sure?" she pined for confirmation as they all stood outside Hira's apartment.

"My Noh is 'Heart analysis'. I can read others' minds, thus I am always able to strike the first blow. So you meeting me was pretty much jackpot on your part... but although your fears were well-meaning, it was incorrect. Hira's intentions _were_ rather selfish, but he went forward only with Promina's consent."

"What's going on in there now?"

"They've finished mating. A brief intercourse in this case due to Promina's youth and inexperience. Nothing more, nothing less. Right now... they're resting. If you want my advice... leave them alone. Let them enjoy their position as bond mates for as long as it lasts..." Jealousy pushed himself from the wall he had been leaning against, and motioned to leave, "... as short as it is going to last."

Liara said nothing for a while as she stared at the door, until Garrus placed a hand upon her shoulder; "Let's head back."

She nodded, "Alright. I'm sorry for dragging you along."

"Hey, we're friends – right?"

A smile graced her lips, "Right. Thank you."

* * *

_Seven hours later..._

_Location_: Central dome, the Core.

Hours of rest and many meals, yet still he felt miserable. Ultimo pushed himself up from his seat and stared ahead – scanning the largely empty chamber. It was strange, but having spent much of his time in the Core, he could feel the slightest change in the city like it was done to his own body. A tiny tremor was felt... confirming the inevitable; the kurozu are getting closer.

"How are you feeling?" Milieu approached him from the side.

"Mm... not feeling too good. Is it time?"

"Jin reported back... the Tenjo is ready. But the kurozu are still hours away from breaching the dome... want to wait for a while longer?"

"No." the scarlet dôji shook his head, "Sound the stand-to alarm. I'll make ready..." and placed his palms together, which caused him to radiate with light as he began to gather energy needed to relocate the whole population.

Milieu smiled, "Don't push yourself too hard."

"I can't have limits here. I only wish we did not have to leave so many behind..." he felled a sorrowful tear, "... may the father be with them."

"May the father be with all of us. We are going to need it."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

_Location_: Central dome, 56th street.

Promina stared lazily at the roof at length. It had been minutes since he woke up again, but simply remained there. His head resting against the still-sleeping Hira's outstretched gauntlet. He only budged an inch once thirst overcame him, and raised his left arm to rub the grogginess out of his eyes as he slowly forced himself up - only to pause upon seeing how bulky it had gotten.

His first reaction was that of a nervous giggle as he felt a tiny sensation coming from inside the gauntlet. _M-my very first pregnancy_. he thought with an equal amount of triumph and terror. _Will I be a good enough father? Am I ready?_ But drink first. Promina got up from the bed and went for the fridge to see what Hira got.

"Up already?" he heard Hira groan as he also awoke - as though in responce to his partner's absence.

Promina said nothing at first as he finally found an energy drink. _Good_. "Y-yeah... I'm just kind of... thirsty."

"Help yourself... ahn~"

He watched Hira get up from the corner of his eyes "Don't mind if I do." while opening the carton to guzzle down its contents. Relief quickly washing across him before half the cool liquid was poured down to his processing chamber.

"So... how's your arm?"

Promina showed it, which had widened by at least five inches. He discarded the emptied carton and rubbed the affected gauntlet. "I was waiting for my springtime to come... but did not think it would come so soon."

"Part of what makes life worth living; the unexpected." Hira whispered as he came close to examine it. His eyes sad. "Too bad I won't ever see the child born."

"Hira..."

"At the very least I will make sure you're safe. As long as I can do that, I'll be content."

Promina bit his lower lip, "I know."

Hira wrapped his arms around the com dôji and pulled him gently into a tight hug. "No apology is good enough. I'm sorry for being so selfish."

"Don't apologize. There is no need to." the com dôji let himself be taken into that warm embrace, and did nothing to break from it. "If only we had more time..."

"Yeah."

No longer did it take before a piercing siren sounded off. Echoing throughout the city so loudly that no one would be surprised if it woke the dead.

Knowing what it meant, Hira leaned in and kissed Promina's forehead just before the room was bathed in a golden glow as two spatial balls appeared to them. "But alas... our parting has already come."

"No..." Promina ached as Hira pulled away to approach the ball closest to him.

"For what it is worth, I truly enjoyed the short time I spent with you."

"L-l-likewise."

Hira gave him a sorrowful smile, "Be safe." before he vanished.

Promina stood there, all alone. Eyes focused on where his bond mate used to be just a second ago. He drew a deep breath which quivered throughout his being until he finally went and pressed his palm against the remaining spatial ball, through which he instantly disappeared.

Far above where he used to be, the swarm of kurozu that had until then been digging relentlessly towards the city collectively twitched as all the energy signatures within the city faded. Its entire population evacuated in no more than a minute.

* * *

A moment later...

Location: Mt. Everest, Tenjo.

Milieu emerged from the spatial ball and into the bridge of the Tenjo with a largely deactivated Ultimo in his arms. The fellow Grand Aspect had emptied his energy supply to effect the evacuation.

"Sir, welcome on board." Jin greeted him, at attention next to the empty Captain's seat. Behind him, the bridge crew were already at their stations. Waiting for the word to begin.

"No time for formalities." Milieu authoritatively uttered while he gently put the scarlet dôji down on the floor before he went to sit down, "Status."

"Facility wards are barely holding. Once we fire the ship up, they'll come apart."

"And our people?"

"All to be brought off-world have arrived."

"Then prepare for take-off, immediately. This is our only shot."

Jin turned to the crew, "Prepare for launch!"

All as one, the chosen crew went to work. Milieu took a moment to look the chamber over. It was delicate in design, and rather spacious. There was no canopy to look out through as the bridge was situated deep inside the Tenjo. But projectors started to activate as his order transferred throughout the length and height of the ship. He listened placidly as the bridge crew reported:

"Spacecraft Tenjo status report:"

"Engineering – On-line. Beginning engine warmup sequence."

A single shudder was sent through the superstructure as power was fed into engineering.

"All drives in the green. Beginning countdown."

"Reporting: All stations green."

"Sir." Jin turned back with quite the triumphant expression. "We can detonate the charges whenever you're ready."

Milieu spared a glance at the wall, as if to see the mountain that was practically in the way. There was enough explosives laced throughout the mountain chain to split it open so as to free the Tenjo from its cradle. "That step can wait. For now, the status of our troops out there!"

"Preparations underway. All three hundred fifteen thousand volunteers more than ready to lay down their lives to ensure the future of our people are accounted for."

He suppressed a shiver of unease at the number. More than they expected. "Kurozu response?"

The one to answer was the dôji at sensory, "Massive. Wards no longer effective. They're coming."

"Now... we got no choice but to weather the coming storm. Father, grant us strength."

* * *

It was as though half a world flinched as the Tenjo facility's wards collapsed. The enormous energy readings enough to direct the attention of each and every factory across the hemisphere towards Mt. Everest.

All the AI's sensed that something huge was going on. And reacted accordingly.

The greatest was the response coming from the only Major factory in the region. From it poured a monstrous army so vast it made an already dark sky even blacker, and made the very earth tremble to its very core.

Soon it would erupt, the most desperate battle waged in centuries.

* * *

**Author notes**: The process of dôji mating process was explained in short early on in the story, but felt that I eventually had to show it in action.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Race against time**

* * *

_Date_: 12th April, 3757 A.D. - Two hours till launch.

_Location_: Mt. Everest.

Hira held onto the mental picture he had of Promina as he emerged from the spatial ball, and onto a slope of the world's tallest natural mountain. It was steep enough to make him balance himself before looking about for any other comrades. The golden lights of spatial balls occurred everywhere. Even at neighboring mountains he could discern masses of light. Under his feet, the ground shook almost imperceptibly.

Fortunately he did not have to look far for allies, as dozens materialized around him – both tall and small, bulky and slim. None that he immediately recognized. No one from the brothel at least.

"All of ye, rally to me!" one called out in the middle of his group. A lanky green-themed fellow surrounded closely by a duo that actively communicated with him in hushed tones, most likely the local com dôji.

Hira went with the flow, while cringing at their local leader's cheesy choice of words, and gathered with the rest – which had quickly grown into a full-sized battalion - in a large circle around the person who identified himself as Usok. Above them, the sky lit up for an instant as a bolt of lightning struck the ground, followed by distant rumbling.

_Usok. Wasn't that the guy who used to be the chief of the Empire state spire?_ Hira was only able to make the connection because he heard the rumor. The guy got beaten down and remote-controlled by some puppeteer-type enemy.

It took a fair minute ro finish gathering, so chatter ebbed and flowed while it went on, punctuated by repeated calls from their leader, and the rolling of thunder across the cloud-covered skies.

Finally, with a cutting motion, Usok called to silence. Then spoke. "I'm not going to bother with a speech. You all know what is at stake."

A nod of confirmation was shared amongst the crowd.

"Got word that Grand Aspect Ultimo knocked himself out with this mass transfer, so we ended up more scattered then planned. We will proceed to rendezvous with the rest of our assigned comrades further down the western side of this mountain. Our army has been divided into four separate fronts facing each their cardinal direction. We are part of the western line, no straying into the other areas unless specifically called to it. Everyone got that?"

"Aye!" the assembled soldiers replied in a chorus of voices.

Usok blasted off, "Follow me!"

"Aye." Hira repeated with the rest as they followed suit. He articulated himself through the air as his ignited calf-mounted thrusters lifted him clear off the ground and followed. Hundreds of sonic booms going off as everyone explosively accelerated to follow Usok.

"Hey..."

Hira rolled slightly to face one of Usok's com dôji who just dropped back to bank close to him, "What is it?"

"Do you remember me?"

To be perfectly honest, he didn't. "Customer, or did we meet elsewhere?"

"Tarras' my name." the other introduced himself, "Came for your services once."

"Once, huh? Can't expect me to keep track of all the meals I've had."

At this, Tarras drooped slightly. "I see..."

"If you're looking for a good time, it's too late for that now."

"No... I... um... sorry for bothering you."

A silence stretched between them. It continued till Hira finally decided to ask; "So... any particular motivation that made you sign up?" he waited for an answer, but none came... so he continued; "I'm nearly a hundred and fifty years old. Both of my parents are dead, and all of my eighty-nine children have long since grown up – some of which have also died for the cause. A few of them might even be among the volunteers somewhere on this mountain. And... I really don't like the idea of running away, but I won't simply roll over either. Nor will I let the kurozu have their way with. As for very personal reasons... I got myself a new bond mate recently, so I'm fighting to protect him... and the child he's now carrying." - "How about you?"

Tarras finally looked back at him, "I... don't have anyone special in particular to defend. But I don't dislike anyone either. How should I say this...? I'd like to protect everyone if I can."

"Sounds fine." he giggled. "Simple."

"... Maybe, but... Did you hear that?"

Hira blinked as he focused on his auditory function, and was able to hear rolling thunder in the extreme distance – and he was far from the only one to do so as the pack around them slowed to listen. Only, it wasn't thunder at all. "It's started. Gotten any engraves?"

"Wait a sec..." Tarras whispered as quietly he could without silence taking him, "Northern front has encountered the enemy. Sons of Avarro estimate ten thousand hostiles – plus/minus. And a worm, which they managed to force to the surface as it attempted to bypass them. Casualties light on our side, battle commencing."

"No more than that?" laughed a comrade from nearby.

Hira frowned at him, "It's just the beginning. They are going to hurl millions down our collective throats." dimly aware that most of the battalion closed in around their colonel as his com specialists received the very same news, along with every other with engrave abilities across the theater. It was just one of many news circulating. The rest soon moving on, now in a completely different direction with Usok's guidance.

"Rendezvous location changed by our Assigned General. Enemy incoming from the north-west. A force of estimated six hundred thousand hostiles." Tarras continued, droning like he was an automatic broadcast system. "The entire western front must therefore relocate at once."

He clapped on the fellow dôji's shoulder, "Better not tarry then. Let's go."

"Aye."

* * *

_One hour and fifty minutes till launch..._

_Location_: Tenjo, Bridge.

Milieu watched the curved haptic map hovering before him – displaying troop movements on both sides. The western front that formerly stretched across the west-side of the Himalaya now bunched up in preparation for the north-western offensive coming in from East Tibet Factory. The northern front currently in combat with forces originating from West Tibet Factory.

Eastern front hadn't met with resistance so far. But there is a carrier inbound from Taiwan Factory, it would arrive in no more than an hour despite the distance.

Most worrisome however is the forces incoming from Jharkhand Factory in what used to be India. Numbers unknown, but vast. A portion of troops had been funneled in from the eastern front to aid in the south's defense.

It is really grinding his circuits to watch as the red and blue blobs along the northern line clashed against one another. Across the Himalaya, close to four-hundred and fifty thousand sacrificial soldiers participated in the effort to hold back the kurozu so Tenjo may leave unmolested. Four-hundred and fifty thousand soldiers that will all be dead within the next few hours with no way to save them. It was sickening and horrifying to think about.

"How are the people holding up?" Milieu finally asked, not diverting his attention from the map by even an iota.

Jin answered succinctly, "Very uneasily, sir. They are, understandably, frightened."

"... If they have anything that allow them to see what I'm seeing right now, shut it off. Shut it off now!" he felt queasy as casualty figures rolled in, a tiny trickle compared to that of the kurozu piling up across the field. But every loss was like a knife stabbing into his chest, and it was not just because of his Noh – which was unique, even compared to that of the others. Under normal conditions, the impact would inevitably had been less, as _if _the situation turned sour.. they could always retreat. But now they fought to stave off extinction. "Please."

Ultimo was most fortunate in a way. Still inactive from the strain he had put himself through. Unable to see the horror transpiring before their eyes.

"It shall be done." Jin replied as he turned around to relegate the orders.

Most painful to watch was the timer. Ticking down ever so slowly. Milieu rubbed his temples and tried to push out his doubts. It only betrayed the brave souls fighting out there.

* * *

_One hour and forty-one minutes till launch..._

_Location_: Tenjo, interior.

Terminals could easily be accessed from the moment they came on board, to check on how things were going outside. Bond mates looking for loved ones, children after their fathers, friend after friend, parents after their sons.

Unfortunately, this search piled up a certain tenseness that instilled deep fear into the populace cooped up inside the massive craft. Especially where the population density was beyond excessive. It only stopped building up when the terminals were remotely shut off, or barred from access by lines of guards. In old human societies, such an act would have caused an uproar, but here.. it was done with no ill intention in mind.

In its stead, a broadcast began. What came was Regula's gentle voice, holding a sermon to calm hearts and minds.

Promina did not listen though, he kept himself in a distant corner. Having curled himself into a ball, with his pregnant gauntlet resting on his lap – staring at it, trying to think. He wanted to see Hira again, but knew it was impossible.

"Mind if I sit down?" an unmistakably familiar female voice asked. A look up revealed it to be Liara, who had just barely managed to squeeze herself through the heavily crowded place with limbs intact.

"F-feel free."

Liara smiled and eased herself down. "You okay?"

"My core hurts." Promina whispered painstakingly. "I never knew it would hurt this much."

"I know. Same happened to me when I first learned of my mother's death. It hurt so much it felt like I was falling apart. If you need to talk... I'm here."

"T-thanks..." he murmured, and turned quiet for a bit as he let some of his sobs boil to the surface. He tried to say more, but was unable to.

In a move of unexpected intimacy, she wrapped her arms around the dôji and pulled him close into a comforting hug.

Promina did not cry conventionally. His face simply turned blue, a really sorrowfully dark blue as he let her hold around him. "I... I did not even remember to ask what name he wanted for our son."

"I'm sure he'll be satisfied with any you choose." she answered. Touched by the emotion shown by the synthetic. "Just choose whichever you like. But... come to think of it, couldn't you ask via Engrave?"

"It ain't allowed for non-combatants to communicate with troops involved in combat operations...but most com dôji inside Tenjo have been blocked anyway."

"How?"

"Saturation use of specific Noh. I imagine Service and Désir's hard at work. Noh-related abilities possessed by certain bloodlines can be used to suppress also."

"But that..."

The dôji shuddered. "It's making me go crazy. Don't even know if he's still alive or dead... or dying. Or... or..."

"Don't consider anything reckless." Liara shot in, "I'm sure he won't forgive you if there's any thought in that little head of yours that suggest you going out looking for him." she told him in a somewhat stricter tone, her embrace tightening further – though she was aware that he could tear through them like wet paper if he got violent. "Stay, think of how you'll raise your kid. Think for his future."

Promina stared up at her as he forcefully calmed himself. His expression still full of despair, but his arms relaxed.

"That it...?" Liara inquired, brushing a hand against the bulge across her friend's pregnant gauntlet.

"Yes. Er. Um. Maybe I'll choose; Ben..."

"Ben... Benezia?"

He weakly smiled, shown as the blue dulled slightly. "No... Ben as in Ben... or Benjamin. That's the name I'll settle on for now."

"It's a good name."

"Y-yeah." his gaze momentarily glazed over, "Liara. I'd like to go to the nearby observation dome."

Liara a puzzled look crossed her eyes, "We could.. but why? We're inside-" she stopped mid-sentence. It was just a matter of time before the mountain would have to be blown open so the Tenjo may take its leave. So she decided to change the question; "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

She nodded, "Then let's go."

* * *

_One hour and twenty-five minutes till launch..._

_Location_: Tenjo, Shipyard, Control room.

Designed to do everything, the Tenjo possessed plenty construction facilities, one of which is the shipyard – it could produce ships up to sizes yet unknown. There wasn't enough time currently to properly research its limits.

For now, it was being used as temporary living space for the voyage. Crowds filling it from wall to wall. Aside from that, it was heavily guarded along with all other facilities that connected with one of Tenjo's great hangars. Its doors deemed a weak point and possible points of entrance if the kurozu got close enough to board.

Much work went on currently, but few at the location were more important than that of the two aspects in the shipyard's control room. Sitting in a lotus position with little but a meager pillow between their bums and the floor, was Desir to the far left, and Service to the far right. Facing one another, yet without making eye-contact. Their focus near-absolute. Around them stood and walked a number of medical dôji, ready to feed energy to either of the aspects if needed.

"What a drag.." Désir muttered, grimacing.

Service sighed back under his breath; "Don't pull a Paresse on me now, would you?"

It was a formidable task, to cover all of Tenjo with their respective Noh. Usually though, their area of effect were much smaller out of practicality, else they'd run dry before too long.

The blue-tinted dôji's expression tightened, and tensed. Trembling ever so slightly, which was enough to encourage a nearby medical specialist to approach and provide some energy through touch. Service nodded with his thanks, "Feeling a bit parched," he mentioned dryly, "-could you get an energy drink for me?"

The minor synthetic bowed in acknowledgment and left the room to fetch one.

"Like being serviced, Service?" Désir mirthfully asked. He hadn't watched, but could hear the exchange well enough.

"I don't make a habit of being pampered with, but it's not like I got much of a choice right now."

"Hah."

Service sighed woefully, "I'd appreciate if you avoid laughing."

"Just a cough."

"Sure it was." Service sarcastically replied, one of his very few. But his muttering evaporated once the medical dôji returned with the requested drink, "Much appreciated."

The fellow bowed, and went back to his line. It did not take long before the silence within the room was interrupted once again as the door opened up, "Hey." Sophia greeted in a low tone as he entered.

Greetings were promptly returned, "What's up?" Désir inquired.

"Where did you guys place the organics' shuttle?"

"That? At the fighter berths. You'd be surprised how small that thing actually is. What are you planning to do with it?"

"Planning?" Sophia shrugged, "Well, that depends on what the organics decide." and left without another word.

"What's that all about?"

"Don't know." Service sighed, "Anyway, we're stuck here till after launch."

"On with the job."

* * *

_One hour and eleven minutes till launch..._

_Location_: Himalaya, North-western front.

Hira landed atop the ruined wreck of the latest squid he slew. Light fading from its multitude of red eyes as he panted heavily. Listening to the very faint clicking sounds over the clamor of his surroundings as automatic self-repair went on. His body was faintly cracked in several places from both blunt and sharp impacts, both hakama and kimono ripped in several places, and had plenty dirt on his frame from many unpleasant meetings with the ground.

All the while, he looked for his next target.. which quickly presented itself as a squid barreled down at him.

"Don't underestimate me, octopus." Hira took a gingerly step back to buy himself that extra foot of a gap to swing his gauntlet – made Kukri – and hacked the squid vertically in half with one well-timed strike, right before its tentacles could reach him.

He did not wait for its sliced components to hit the ground before he burst forward, and repeated the process with his next dozen of targets, hacking them to pieces in short order, but always aimed straight at where their CPU's are located. In this environment and situation, not aiming for a killing blow was simple folly.

The battle had turned into a complete stalemate by now. Kurozu swarmed across the region, and the north-western front fought hard to keep them at bay. Very difficult when there is little to no room for retreat... but made easier when the battlefield is three-dimensional.

"Uh.. whoa!" he interrupted his thought processes to run as he realized hundreds of kurozu squid-corpses are raining down across the area he's in. A tendril full of them had tried to punch through the lines high above, but was successfully intercepted from the side. The tendril was blown in half by massed fire, followed briefly by the destruction of its disconnected section when several dôji squadrons surrounded and pounded it into submission from long range.

Everyone underneath had their hands full dashing their way out of the downpour, and Hira quickly found himself quite alone, a distance from the line. _Ugh, let's see..._

He – almost by reflex - chopped down a stray squid slipped out of a nearby column of smoke, and onto the ground adjacent to his position.

_That way_. He decided once the kill had been confirmed, and ran. Passing a lot of burning and pummeled wrecks along the way. The kurozu dead probably littered the ground across the region by now. And mixed in with all that junk he saw the occasional dôji. Lying lifelessly on the ground, in pieces or crushed.

Among them was one who had a helmet-like head, much like Promina, and imagined his new bond mate lying there. Hira immediately caught himself and shook this mental image out of his head, and ran all the harder as several more squids descended upon him – which he was more than ready to slaughter.

"I won't let them get you." he hissed severely, "Not even if I die!"

* * *

_Fifty-five minutes till launch..._

_Location_: Tenjo, Bridge.

"B-by father's word." Jin gasped.

It was hard not to be amazed by this grandiose view. The air of uneasiness in the bridge had evaporated by constant borderline suicidal bravery going on across the Himalaya. Milieu now sat with a stone-faced expression, utterly composed with an unflinching gaze.

Taking into account the incredulously vast enemy forces flooding into the region, their troops on the surface held extremely well against the onslaught. Fighting with a tenacity and fervor few could match. The harder the kurozu attempted to push onward, the harder the dôji out there dug their collective heels in to push back – filling entire mountainsides with ruined and smoking junk in the process.

To the south however, the struggle was much harder. Southern front's defenders outnumbered by their foes to a hideous extent. Against an army of several millions, the slightly over a hundred thousand dôji in the area could only be slowly pushed back, even though they fought so hard it equalled the fury of armies many times their numbers.

However, some relief came for them, courtesy of the eastern front. The carrier from Taiwan Factory had arrived, and were instantly attacked and besieged before it could disgorge forces through its many honeycombed hangar doors. Kurozu Carries are gigantic, easily several kilometers across, propelled by powerful thrusters and a copious amount of hover pads that strongly glowed a fiery red.

In this hectic battle, a unit of four managed to force their way in and made a beeline for the core, leaving a trail of pulverized killer machines in their wake.

Milieu knew the names of the soldiers involved; Nimrod, Alastor, Singh, and Eisin.

The quartet managed to force themselves into the core, even as the kurozu closed in all around them. In there, they forced the carrier to change its heading, and cut power to all the hover pads that kept it in the air.

Naturally, this sent the vessel plummeting to the ground – straight into the kurozu's southern forces. The carrier slammed into the onrushing force and exploded with such force several kilometers worth of landscape were engulfed by the resulting firestorm – incinerating kurozu in the hundreds of thousands. It did not stop the advance, but slowed it, and bought the southern defenders precious time to regroup. With no more forces coming for their part of the defensive perimeter, the eastern front rallied to the south.

Milieu felled a single tear. Neither of the four managed to get out in time, but their contribution might have won them the battle unless something unexpected comes up.

Across the battle theater, thousands of heroic acts occurred. Each a valuable one.

Nevertheless, the time of those on the surface were numbered. Enemy numbers would only grow over the next few hours. Based on projections, they would number more than seventy million in no more than four hours as the entire hemisphere converged on Himalaya.

Fortunately, the Tenjo would be long gone before that if everything goes as planned.

"How many have fallen?" Jin finally asked.

Sensory succinctly replied, "Unknown. Things are too hectic to keep up. My closest estimate is several ten thousands."

A shudder passed across the bridge.

Milieu did not flinch. "Forty-seven minutes left."

"Forty-seven long minutes." Jin grimaced.

"Keep track. Send a warning to clear the soon-to-be affected areas once sixteen minutes remain.. At fifteen, we blow the charges."

"Fifteen minutes is a long time."

"We do not know how long it will take to clear the way. Once the countdown finish, I want the Tenjo in the air. I will not allow our sacrifices to be in vain!"

Jin looked like he was going to argue, but stopped himself just short of it – especially as he found himself under the eldest dôji's stern gaze. "A-aye, acknowledged."

* * *

_Fifteen minutes and thirty seconds left till launch..._

_Location_: Himalaya, North-western front.

How long had he fought without even once finding someone he recognized? He lost sight of Tarras and Usok a long time ago. But at the very least he found a troop of fellow sons of Désir. None from where he worked at, but all with similar off-combat professions.

The army had scattered once the order came. Hira only learned of it from those he ended up with, who heard it from a com dôji who was nowhere to be seen.

It was not an easy thing to get away from the area that would soon be blown to pieces in such short allotted time, the amount of ground that had to be cleared was immense. Big enough that it would turn mount Everest and a large stretch of the Himalaya into a steep multiple kilometers-deep gorge.

Once far enough out, he and the rest threw themselves onto the ground and curled themselves up. Bracing for what was about to happen.

"Final countdown!" one of the others called out; "Three, two, one, brac-"

He couldn't hear the final syllable. It was thoroughly deafened as seemingly the entire country of former Nepal exploded. Hira turned off his auditory sense to keep the sound from overloading it. As for the view, once the glimmer of only white cleared away, he was staring speechlessly at the biggest wall of fire he had ever seen, white-hot in its fury. Hurling millions of tons of rocks, granite and dirt into the sky across a wide arc. He barely managed to lock himself to the ground as the shock wave and clouds of dust blasted past them.

It was impossible to estimate collateral damage. But plenty of those myriads of jagged boulders – up to hundreds of tons in mass – would inevitably crash into the kurozu armies across the region.

"There she blows!" one cried out. More than a few had gotten up and cheered at the view. This explosion plainly told them that the Tenjo now had nothing left between it and the sky, aside from the remaining minutes it'll take for full launch-readiness.

"Look at all that downpour!" another laughed.

Following suit with this mood in the air, Hira could not help but laugh and pump his fist into the air. "Hah hah! Go for it, ye rocks. Pummel 'em into dust!"

Reality was quick to ensue though, as hundreds of squids screamed past overhead – making a beeline for the newly made gorge.

"Rust..."

"They're heading to the Tenjo!"

"After them!"

* * *

_Five minutes till launch..._

_Location_: Tenjo, 44th Observation Dome.

The dome dulled to a near-black when the charges detonated with power almost unheard of. All of Tenjo shuddered at the sheer force as a large scar was dug across the Himalaya. But the light faded, allowing the dome to brighten up again – though there was not much to see beyond the installation that surrounded the great world ship.

Cranes and scaffolds had collapsed from sight, and deep wounds had been dug into the walls, turning what used to be a flawless wall into the starting point of a canyon. Utter silence ruled for minutes afterward, the only sound came from distant rumbles.. and the cries of small children startled by all that clamor.

"Goddess.. what was that?" Liara finally asked at the view. Roughly at the same time, thousands crammed together in the spacious dome around them began to murmur.

"I believe," Promina whispered, "they had to remove the mountain overhead somehow."

"Started to wonder how we were going to take off with such an obstacle. There must have been millions of tons of granite above us, the force needed to break up and remove all that is..."

"What's that?" someone in the back asked. Out there, something moved.

Liara looked up at one of the larger cracks in the wall, and gasped at the sight of a metallic squid that slithered in through it. Then another, and another, till a swarm of fifty had assembled – rushing for the dome, perhaps seeing it as a structural weak point.

The one furthest ahead arrayed its tentacles and claws forward like whips as it closed in, prepared for landing, until it suddenly and explosively fell apart. Several other machines were shot down in turn – from behind, as a squadron of dôji emerged from the same crack and assaulted the onrushing group from behind.

It was a stirring sight, like that of a dance, as the soldiers closed in – spearheaded by a trio that instead of starting at the rear, rocketed to the front, faster than their enemies could intercept, and cut the kurozu off from the dome.

The number of combatants were too even... and the squids were destroyed almost wholesale in short order. One however managed to get to the dome, and flexed its claws to try and rip the dome open. But, it did not even come close to even start on this endeavor as one of the aforementioned three smashed it like a bug with a powerful thruster-enhanced stomp.. then landed in its stead.

"H-H..." Promina uttered as he turned pale.

Liara looked to him, "Huh?"

"Hira...?" the dôji weakly mouthed, his voice instantly evolving into a shout as he cried out next; "Hira!"

* * *

_Two minutes until launch..._

_Location_: Mt. Everest, Tenjo facility, outside Tenjo's 44th Observation Dome.

Hira couldn't hear a single word that came from the thousands-strong number of dôji inside the place he had landed upon. But as if fated to, he saw Promina as clearly as though it was day in the middle of the crowd – standing next to one of the female organics.

"To see one another again..." he whispered. Watching his bond mate fondly. He placed his left palm against the dome beneath him, and rubbed it. A smile upon his lips. Eyes focused on the one so far below him. "Is this just a... coincidence?"

The organic began to mouth words, while gesticulating at Promina's pregnant gauntlet. Hira leaned slightly closer, and was able to just barely read her lips. _Ben, or Benjamin?_

Did she mean which name he wanted their kid to have?

Hira almost laughed. He folded the gauntlet he held against the dome and curled it into a fist with a thumb pointed up. "Whichever you choose, I approve."

Both below seemed to quiet down a bit at the gesture he gave. Allowing a strange peace to fill his core. Interrupted by nothing... until a cliff far behind came crashing down, followed by multiple screams of agony. Hira whipped around, and found out what caused it:

Like a demon from the deepest void, a Deus ex Machina had made its appearance. One of a stout make, and hunchbacked – kept aloft by a quartet of thrusters. It was devoid of claws and other sharp features. Instead, it sported an elongated weapon which gusts of flame erupted. Essentially a flamethrower, but whatever substances were used... it was as though it spewed magma. Several dôji cried out in pain as another column of fire washed over them, and set them alight like living torches till they limply went still and fell.

"Rust. That could wreak havoc on the dome." one guessed as he and most of the remainders tried to surround the monster. "Protect it!"

Hira launched himself into the air to join in the combined attack, a surprisingly difficult one, as Deus ex Machina usually are. This one easily moved with the speed and agility of a class B. Bad news for a small clutch of minor dôji in other words.

More comrades fell screaming to their deaths as the machine brought its powerful flamethrowers to bear again and again. It was all Hira could do to dodge one of the bursts. It was a frightening opponent, but no one fled. They did not fear death, but failure. And with less than a minute till launch, they just needed to keep it busy a little while longer.

Two more fell, and soon Hira was alone. He was at the thing's back, and frantic to look for any way to kill it before he himself died. Promina was watching him, and too close for comfort. _I can't let that thing stay functional... I need to end it, now!_

It was then that he stared at its hunched back. Whatever it used to fuel that flamethrower had to be inside.

With that thought, he boosted himself to full speed, and rushed for the machine's back. It had already seen him, and twisted its arm at a bizarre angle – using it to strike at his lower body with such power that it cut him in half. Hira let out a pained gasp, but refused to give in. He held his Kukri high and buried it as deep into the Deus ex Machina's back as he could manage – then initiated what he knew would be his final karakuri henge, and set the liquid that bubbled from the deep wound he inflicted on the now-flailing machine aflame with a beam shot.

In that one instant, his whole life flashed by – which terminated with the image of his latest bond mate before he was consumed by the same explosion that tore apart his final foe.

* * *

_Four seconds until launch..._

_Location_: Tenjo, 44th Observation Dome.

Liara bit her lower lip, almost trembling at the sound of such pain in Promina's voice as he screeched at the sight of Hira's bisection at the hand of that machine. Especially so when Hira spent the final moment of his life to kill the monster, where the screech turned silent – Promina's face became almost entirely black as despair overloaded him.

To see a loved one die before ones eyes is a special kind of pain. And that was the kind of pain Promina went through now.

Just as the explosion occurred, the Tenjo burst into motion. But neither she nor Promina would see the transition itself from gorge to space as the asari wrapped her arms tightly around the dôji and brought him into another hug, one as warm as she could possibly offer.

His voice was audible again after just a few moments, and it was even more heartbreaking in its sorrow as Promina cried, while burying his face in her chest.

"Cry. Let it all out. Keep going till you can cry no more, then live – like he wanted you to." she spoke so softly it was almost inaudible. But the synthetic offered no reply, and she required none.

* * *

From the new gorge that had been opened in the Himalaya, a craft of gigantic proportions surfaced – traveling vertically into the sky at a speed that would have been impossible without the alien element zero technology invested into its design.

The Tenjo lifted itself clear off its cradle to finally depart for its maiden voyage. One of the greatest import to its current passengers and crew. A giant wing spearing into the sky, leaving a great opal-blue trail - radiated from the oval hole in its middle – in its wake.

But removed from danger, it wasn't. Even as a couple of minutes passed by, till the Tenji breached the dark clouds and entered orbit shortly after.

In orbit, twenty kurozu spacecrafts were identified as they bore down on the Tenjo from all around.

* * *

_Location_: Tenjo, Bridge.

"My lord." sensory called out, "We got hostile forces incoming."

"They're not planning to let us go easily." Jin muttered as he watched the various screens that displayed the utilitarian-looking crafts. All of which tried to close the gap.

Milieu's mind was on all those still fighting on the surface. Immeasurably sad to know that nothing could be done to help them. At the very least, the sight of Tenjo's departure would lighten their spirits. Mission successful. "Do not try to fight them. Punch straight through and jump once able. Our heading: Charon."

"Acknowledged." Helmsman reported. "Plotting jump coordinates for Charon."

"Disturbance detected in hull-section 7-J." Sensory called out, "Estimation; Deus ex Machina – Unknown classification."

_7-J. That's just behind hangar B_. If that hangar get breached, those inside would be dangerously exposed. Milieu decided quickly, "Do we have any aspects in proximity of hangar B?"

"Hmm... that would be Vice, sir." Jin said.

_Vice, what a strike of luck._ "Tell him of our current peril. And direct him to where the disturbance is located. Whatever decided to hitch a hike must be taken down before we jump. ASAP."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

_Location_: Tenjo, Hangar B.

Saren groaned in frustration. Each time he thought he had a grasp on how big this thing was, he was quickly proven wrong.

"How big _is_ this thing?!"

When he took the spatial ball to this ship, he had been with his comrades Garrus and Nihlus. But at their destination, he ended up quite alone in a sea of synthetics. It was a trap, or they just got scattered. He was disgusted with himself for thinking more on the latter possibility.

Since then, that aspect Sophia had summoned for him to meet in a hangar for some reason.

Problem is, he had gotten himself flashily lost.

Saren rechecked his helmet and suit-seals before he proceeded to the next area. Some of the places on board had atmosphere, but most didn't. Satisfied that all was in order, he cycled through the next set of doors and arrived in a large open area filled with berths and docks elevated along a long corridor, terminating in a huge hangar door that a dreadnought could easily slip through given a chance.

With a huff at the surroundings, the turian wandered across the berths, hoping he had found the right place. For minutes he passed through in eery silence, the creeping loneliness in this place remedied by the crowds huddled within.

But no sign of Sophia.. nor the others.

He was on the border of chewing up his pride to ask one of the synthetics for direction when activity boiled through a section of doors ahead. Grand Aspect Vice came out along with a few dozen lesser dôji marching in his wake. All of them making a beeline for might be maintenance/emergency hatches not far from the hangar door itself.

Driven by his innate capacity for curiosity and suspicion, he picked up his pace and followed them.

* * *

_Location_: En route to Hull-section 7-J.

Vice relished in the moment as he and his chosen security crew cycled through the series of pressure doors that would lead them outside. Atmosphere had given away for vacuum, so it was relatively safe to head on out – as long as one does not fall off the hull that is. All at large oblivious of the organic that had decided from sheer impulse to follow them outside.

He surfaced into space to find an exotic landscape. The advanced curved hull of the Tenjo. A carpet of stars he hadn't seen since his days as an arena-bot, the darkened Earth-rise far behind their craft, and the light of the sun peering from just 'above' the planet. It was enough to make him pause in awe, doubly more for those behind him.

Speaking of arena. Vice directed his gaze back to the hull.. and found the cause of disturbance. Standing in a peculiarly circle-shaped area, slightly more elevated than the rest, was – as correctly guessed – a Deus ex Machina. One that looked unusually bizarre. A twisted assortment of muscular limbs connected to a weird center. Looked like someone had twisted together a gnarled oak tree and a smattering of giant tube worms. It balanced itself on a trio of legs with multiple joints, and seven arms, two of which were overly bulky. This asymmetric design made the enemy look like it was constantly on the verge of tripping, yet it moved with surprising fluidity.

Another peculiarity about it was that almost its entire body was dyed in various shades of purple.

"The hell's this, a fashion statement?" Vice almost guffawed as he launched himself into the 'arena' to face the bizarre construct, "You look like shit."

It barely acknowledged its presence. But it was hard to tell. Until it suddenly stopped swaying and span, limbs low, at a speed one wouldn't think it was capable of. Vice had to bend himself backward till he nearly bumped the back of his head against the hull to avoid the most 'muscular' arm as it flew past, just overhead. Mid-motion, the thing span back again like inertia had decided to give it a pass – this time forcing Vice to dodge by diving to the side.

To make him strain himself in such a manner. This was no ordinary Deus ex Machina.

Understanding the threat it posed, he gave a curt gesture to those yet to join the fight, "Step back weaklings. This thing's outta your league..."

All of the dôji behind him stopped their charge with utmost reluctance. Their team leaders gave the signal to spread out, one of whom spoke up; "We ain't gonna let you face that thing alone, sir. All units, covering fire!"

"Tch." Vice sneered, "Fine-" and had to duck as the monster initiated another attack, "Karakuri henge – Turtle-saw!"

It aimed an arm down at him, but he sliced it off.. then mounted the remaining stump and ran along its length – and stabbed his saw-like blade deep into the machine's trunk-like body, then pulled it clear; cutting it halfway apart.

The resulting wound was visible to the very eye as the top half of the machine tilted at an odd angle. What he did not expect however, was how its mechanical innards suddenly crawled, as though it was filled with millions of ants. Twigs shot from either side of the wound to reconnect and pull the sliced section back together.

A glance back revealed the same thing was happening to the arm he parted. "Damn, you got some real quality make there..." Vice remarked, and jumped clear before it could properly bring itself back to counterattack.

It shot its heavier arms at him while the rest of its limbs was busy protecting its main body from the many shots that impacted it – courtesy of all the minor dôji that had performed a complete encirclement of their enemy, without much success in damaging the intruder.

Vice rolled to the side, and delivered a full-force punch to the forearm of the closest limbs, strong enough to crack it severely – only to see it repair itself again. "Huh... not actually creating parts like we do." he observed, "Just really good nano-tech. Just reconstituting parts. With plenty internal redundant systems to pull you back together if necessary."

The only positive thing about this encounter was the thing's focus on him. There was no need to ask why. It all came down to the reason why the kurozu never managed to reverse-engineer the tech Dunstan invested into the dôji across the entirety of the war. Their enemy absolutely hated his Noh, more than that of any other Noh, which was the source of that constant failure: Incompetence.

"Die." it rumbled with whatever it used to speak with. It span again, forcing him back on defense.

"I got a better idea..." Vice grunted, "_You_ go, eat rust, and die." He brought his saw to bear on a limb that rushed him from behind, only to see it stop just an inch out of reach. Then a heavy one came from the opposite side – chorused by yells of warning from his men. _A feint?!_

It struck him like a wall and sent him crashing and falling across what felt like hundreds of meters.

_Fuck... it's got one hell of a punch._

His fall was brought to a stop as someone caught him mid-flight either by intention or accident. Anyway.. they span head over heels till they landed haphazardly against the hull.

"What, who?"

One glance over his shoulder the moment they stopped spinning was enough to reveal who it was; Saren.

"How about a 'thank you'?" the organic – clearly annoyed – coughed.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Got lost. Now, _you_ get lost and take that abomination down."

"That was my intention. Now, get off me." the Grans Aspect pulled himself back up and groaned, flexing his limbs for another go.

Saren stood up as well, no less angry. "If only I had a weapon."

"And what, get yourself slaughtered?" Vice sardonically smirked at him, just as the area ahead of him blurred with movements, his crews incoming – fewer than last he saw them:

"Sir, watch out!"

"Uh...?" he looked up as a shadow fell past the light of sunrise, and watched as the Deus ex Machina barreled down at him like a spear – legs filtered together to form its spearhead, thrusters at its back to bring itself back down to the hull.

Seconds slowed down to what felt like minutes as it got closer, so fast there was no time to move. Instead, all his thoughts was devoted to diverting its blow as he brought a gauntlet up to slap the legs aside once it arrives, which he did.. the moment the edge of its feet were just inches from his face with an amount of force that surprised even him.

A warbled screech came from the machine as it – redirected by the blow – impacted the hull in a haphazard heap.

/:Initializing:/

The text scrolled across his vision, much to his perplexity.

/:Dôji/Organic Connection Detected:/

"W-what's going on?" Vice looked over his shoulder, at Saren... who was still behind him... and looked similarly bewildered, with an arm directed at his back. Ahead, the Deus ex Machina forced itself back up with a horrid grunt, and turned to face the Grand Aspect.

/:Initiate ICON Mode?:/

/:Proceed?:/

/:Yes – No:/

What is this? Why now? Vice had no answer to those questions, he only knew that staying like this was dangerous, and he couldn't budge an inch. Both him, and Saren – cursing like some football hooligan – was stuck in place. Seeing no way out, he toggled 'yes'.

The effect was immediate, and he could feel as his very body split apart in a manner much like a karakuri henge, only one applied to the entirety of his body. Could this be... the answer to the question Milieu has spent many years finding?

Tentacles shot out from his back to envelop the turian, with such force that they penetrated his body armor, yet settled into the scaled hide underneath with startling gentleness aside from the pained hiss caused by this intrusion. Data flooded in from Saren's nerve system, aligning their bodies with one another.

/:Initiating ICON Mode:/

/:Evaluation of Dôji/Organic Synchronization Commencing:/

His frame quickly enveloped and brought the turian into his body – into a cockpit that formed into place as Vice turned into a multiple-stories tall mechanical monster with a largely skeletal build. Horns and tusks grew from his face. His mane became much more massive, and wilder than ever. His mouth lip-less and lined with jagged teeth. With ribs that jutted forward like swords. Even a large upward spike had been added to the space between his legs for reasons that were beyond him to figure out.

He could see as the dôji on the ground backed away slowly, mouths agape and eyes wide from fear and awe.

And he could feel the turian inside of him, trying to figure out what just transpired. An uncomfortable feeling for sure. When he made the note about subordinates getting to line their processing chambers with the turians... this was not exactly what he had in mind.

But what energy. Vice felt his power skyrocket to an extent he never experienced before. And he towered over everyone here.. even the Deus ex Machina could barely look him eye to eye as the transformation finished, and he could finally move – eager to test his newly found strength.

/:Evaluation of Dôji/Organic Synchronization Complete: 94%:/

/:Karakuri Henge Complete: Dôji Combination:/

…

/:Demon Vice:/

* * *

**Author notes**: Phew, was a long chapter that.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Escape!**

* * *

_Location_: Tenjo; Hull-section 7-J.

Too stunned to do anything but step away. All the minor dôji watched in numb silence as two titans clashed in an epic battle. No sooner did Vice, or Demon Vice as he is currently, finish transforming before he launched himself – or themselves, if one counted the turian - at his opponent.

"Again!" it bellowed, "It happened again! Curse you, dôji." as it moved in a sickening spiraling motion. Demon Vice stopped the motion with a sideward strike – a slap for lack of a better word – and gripped three of the machine's tentacles. Then grabbed said tentacles roots with a strike so swift it seemed space had no hold on him, then used the resulting leverage to rip the limbs clean off – ripped those in half again, and enthusiastically threw the ripped halves away.

It had quickly turned into one messy battle, yet Demon Vice saw enough room to muse about the situation as he directed some of his attention inwardly.

"So... I'm all giddy with energy at this power boost and stuff. But seriously, what the hell are you doing in my crotch?"

A voice echoed from deep inside as an equally angered and frustrated Saren replied, while he tried to figure out what the hell he was doing in there. "Because your cockpit is there?" and winced.

Demon Vice also winced. Then let a growl out as his body suddenly moved independently from his own will, "What the deuce?"

"I am assuming control!" Saren hissed and forced Demon Vice into the combat stance he was most familiar with, and used it to attack. The dôji sensed fascinated satisfaction from Saren as he was made to directly echo the turian's movements to deliver a sharp kick with the tip of Demon Vice's toes. His current transformed body's legs shaped much like that of a bird, with a trio of sharp articulate spikes for toes, two directed to the front while the last one pointed to the back.

Their enemy came about and tried to guard against this attack. Demon Vice however wouldn't have any of it, and managed to wrestle back control, sharply ended the attack, and used the raised leg instead as a pendulum for added force as he instead delivered a straight punch – smashing further two tentacles that could not be repositioned in time, though it was swift to try and repair the damage.

Saren wouldn't let it, and took control again. Took a giant step forward and shunted a bladed hand through the monster – then Demon Vice regained control, and added a headbutt for good measure.

"You're starting to piss me off, turian!"

"And you're annoying, robot."

"Fuck you."

"Bastard!"

"Ass-wipe!"

"Evil-"

"-And proud of it!"

"Monster."

"Look at the mirror, see who's talking."

"Racist!"

"Right back at ya!"

Control went back and forth, and they constantly switched stances even as they argued. It made them so unpredictable that the Deus ex Machina, even as powerful as it is, was reduced to the status of a punching bag under this furious assault. Steadily ripped to pieces in the torrent of raw but perfectly honed chaos.

* * *

_Location_: Tenjo; Bridge.

"What happened down there?" Milieu inquired. Sensory had informed them of an enormous energy spike right where Vice is supposed to be fighting. His question directed at Jin, who looked befuddled as he tried to make sense of incoming data.

"How should I say this?" Jin licked his lips, and finally fed information into the bridge computers. Up on the main screen, a baffling recording started. Most of the dôji soldiers that joined Vice simply stood there at a good distance from what appeared to be a fight between two Deus ex Machina. No sign of Vice. "It's unbelievable... but that one." he designated the spikier machine, "It is Vice."

Milieu frowned, with slight anger under his mask of perfect composure. _Is this the full-body transformation I've researched the possibility of for so long? How did Vice suddenly accomplish it... when I failed at it for centuries? This doesn't make any sense..._

"There is more, sir." Jin gulped nervously. "This is the eyewitness account of a com dôji at the location." he entered the new info, and a recording opened up.

His eyes widened slightly as he watched Vice undergo the violent transformation into that kurozu-lookalike of a transformation. Milieu's attention was especially directed at Saren, who stood there with a hand against Vice's back, who brought the turian into himself. "Is that the trigger?" he absently asked as he thought back. _Is that it? Is an organic needed for a dôji to undergo full-body transformation? Why did our father add such a condition? He must have known there were no potential organic 'pilot' left after the humans perished... unless... he anticipated alien arrivals. No, can't be. Such an eventuality... even though it did happen recently, the chance for such a coincidence to happen is so low it is mind-boggling_.

But something else occurred to him. Milieu heard the Deus ex Machine say something: "Again. It happened again."

"Huh?" Jin cocked his head in confusion.

"That was what the enemy said."

"What does that mean?"

"It means... the kurozu might have fought another dôji who managed this karakuri henge. What if..."

Jin listened with intense curiosity, as did everyone else within earshot not already busy.

"Maybe... maybe that one might had been Slow."

"Slow." the com dôji whispered with slight awe, "But it is impossible to confirm at this time."

"I know."

"W-what if he's dead...?"

"Do not ask such a question."

Jin bowed, "I apologize."

"Sir. One of the enemy ships is drawing near." Sensory called out.

"Where?" Milieu demanded raptly.

"Close to where Grand Aspect Vice is fighting."

He eyed the image of Vice as he fought so chaotically – with such power that he previously had not. Vice's karakuri henge looked terrifying, so much like the kurozu. Milieu choked that thought and reclined to watch. It was all he could do, even as his claws twitched – as if lit by a deep longing.

* * *

_Location_: Tenjo; Hull-section 7-J.

"Curse you, dôji. We will never stop hunting you!" the ravaged Deus ex Machina growled as its functionality had dropped to only two working limbs. Much of the rest of it pulverized beyond repair. As a last ditch resort to do anything but flail helplessly, it tried to enact a running leap – to kick with both legs slammed together.

"And we'll never stop thrashing you, junk." Demon Vice laughed maniacally, "Think you can match me in raw power?!" he proceeded to transform his right gauntlet into a huge stylized mallet, "Karakuri henge: Demon Fox Hammer!" which he immediately deploayed with terrifying power. If they had fought in an atmosphere, the resulting air pressure would have split the ground into a small canyon. But here, the victor was unceremoniously decided as Demon Vice's strike broke through the machine's remaining legs and pulverized what was left of it in its entirety. "Oh, fuck yes..." he clamored gleefully as he marveled at the cloud of a thousand pieces drifting away from him, that used to be his latest opponent.

"You stole my kill." Saren uttered his complaint.

"I did not see your name on it, bird-brain."

"Sir!" a minor dôji below cried out from below - clearly trembling with some fear.

Demon Vice angled his terrifying face downward. "Eh?" Then looked up, at the enemy craft that had almost come so close it almost filled the view with its ugly utilitarian designs. "What, did I ruin a bet of yours or something?" he growled at it and got no response. "That how it is going to be? Then go to the hell demons go to when they die. I'll even generously send you on your way."

"You talk too much, rust-heap." Saren complained.

"Quit messing with my groove, bird-dung." Demon Vice raised a colossal arm, "Karakuri Henge - Great Demon Drum!"

"Aim at the engines at least."

"I'll aim wherever I want. Shut up."

Normally, the weapon would project extremely powerful sound-waves. This time however, Demon Vice rapidly amassed energy at the mouth of the weapon – just above the drum – until he decided to launch it.

The blast flew true and struck the front of the craft in direct contradiction of what Saren suggested. But no more needed to be done. The blast – as dense as it was – buried itself deeply into the machine's hull and detonated on the inside. Hundreds of both minor and major explosions ripped through the hull. The craft convulsed and twisted as Demon Vice's weapon crippled it in that one shot.

Unable to do anything but fall apart, the Tenjo easily sped ahead of it.

Demon Vice stared at the wide open 'field', and the view beyond it. At the Eath, already so far away.

"A-area is clear, sir." the same minor dôji from earlier hollered, the only one to dare to come close to Vice in his current state.

"Keh. Fun's over already. Pile back in, you lot. We're leaving."

* * *

_Location_: Tenjo; Bridge.

"Hull clear of hostiles." Sensory confirmed, "We are clear to proceed."

Milieu simply nodded, "Drive status?"

"Still fully charged."

"Hrm... wait till Vice and the rest come back in. Status on the organics?"

Jin turned to him, "All on the way to meet up with Sophia. That is, except Saren, at the moment."

"Tell Sophia where he is, and hope the turian's still whole when he gets there." Milieu closed his eyes, expression deeply severe. "Is there any com dôji still alive on the surface?"

"I believe so."

"Then tell them... we've broken through and are away."

It was a tender moment, as the Grand Aspect visibly shook. He wanted to say so much, but only so much could be relayed.

"Tell them."

Jin nodded obediently.

"Vice & company are back in hangar B." Sensory called out.

Milieu clenched his fist, "Helmsman. Commence jump!"

"Initiating." the helmsman said, "Jump activated, we are away."

From outside, mass effect fields coiled around the entirety of Tenjo's gigantic frame before it finally jumped, and vanished from view in the blink of an eye as its speed increased beyond the point an eye could follow. But behind, the kurozu fleet aligned itself for a pursuit, undaunted by one of their number's take-down by a single dôji. In unison, they launched themselves after the Tenjo.

* * *

Fifty minutes later...

_Location_: Tenjo; 44th Observation Dome.

Promina woke up and found himself in what appeared to be land of dancing lights as the dome above was covered by a strange blue wind that obscured the stars beyond. All in the dome bathed in the unnatural light. It took a while to recognize that his head was resting on somebody's lap.

He turned from the spectacle to look up at the owner of these warm legs. But instead of Liara as he first assumed, it belonged to that of a fellow dôji who looked at him with a reassuring smile. "Who...? W-wait, since when did I fall asleep...? Where?"

"I had you shut down a bit." the comrade replied with a melodious voice. "Your grief was so deep and terrible at seeing your loved one die. At least that was what the asari told me. So the one who dealt the killing blow to that kurozu was your bond mate?"

Promina managed little but nod lamely.

A sad and appreciative smile followed. "He was really brave."

"Where is... Liara?" he asked as he felt the strange warmth return that came before his earlier sleep - however abruptly.

"She was called out on some business. I don't know the details."

Promina felt weak, his vision blurred. "Want to talk to her.." This time, he could faintly feel as the dôji who held him gently drain him of energy so as to force him back to sleep. Whoever it is, he is a medical dôji – holders of more energy than average. Able to both give and take it.

"Sssh..." the other hushed very softly, "Rest for now. Close your eyes and sleep."

Unable to resist, Promina could do nothing but surrender himself to sleep once again while the other watched over him protectively. His gauntlets expanded as he placed them atop the sleeping com dôji, in the manner of a blanket. Quite willing to watch over Promina for now, the asari asked for him to do so after all.

* * *

_Location_: Tenjo; Hangar B; Fighter Berths.

Liara stood against the wall close to one of many berths reserved for smaller types of craft. She like the others had been called for – Garrus and Nihlus were the only ones other than herself who had arrived.

They were all silent for the moment, until a rapid patter of feet approached them, echoed by a series of pants of exertion. "Hey, guys." Tali greeted exhaustively as she entered the view, and nearly collapsed to the floor for a breather. "Am I late?"

"No, not really." Garrus drawled lazily. According to him, he had spent most of his time since he first came aboard just wandering about – and looked for where everyone went. "Saren's not here yet."

"Sophia went to fetch him, I think." Nihlus followed up.

Tali exhaled in relief, "That's a relief." More because she was not the last one to arrive than any genuince concern for Saren.

"Anyone know why we were called here anyway?"

"Not really." Liara responded thoughtfully. "Sophia hasn't been very forthcoming this time. He just asked us to gather."

"I wonder what's up." Tali wondered as she stepped to stand next to the asari.

"Doubt it is something overly severe."

"Can't imagine that to be it. I mean, we've probably left the kurozu in the dust by now, right?"

Garrus frowned, "We haven't seen the last of them."

"I know... but for now."

"For now. But what about the future? The kurozu are still at large, and is likely to be less than willing to stay put. On the other hand, the council won't do any more than put up a blockade – not to mention the overt likeliness of a Citadel/dôji war starting up once we're through the relay. This is going to get very bad."

Nihlus clapped his comrade on the shoulder. "We will have to cross that bridge when we get to it. But for now... what are we supposed to do?"

"I'm about to fill you in on that." Sophia informed them as he finally arrived, with Saren behind him. "Your comrade was neck-deep arguing with Vice. He'd had gotten fried if I had been a little slower to join them." - "As for the reason why I gathered you..."

Garrus stood and nudged the older turian's side, "How did you end up in a fight with that guy out of all the synthetics on board?"

Saren snorted. "Got sucked into a fight."

"To elaborate on that." Sophia began to inform them with a sigh, "By little but sheer coincidence, Vice managed a full-body karakuri henge with Saren's... ahem... assistance."

"He transformed into a much bigger form, and I somehow ended up in his cockpit."

Garrus let out a prolonged whistle. "Hm. I wish I was there to see it."

"As do I." Liara seconded with quite a curious look in her eyes.

"Must had been one hell of a fight."

"So of us, only Saren was involved in something interesting this latest hour." Tali lamented, folding her arms as she pivoted to eye Sophia. "So... how did they do it? Could you and me do it now based on that knowledge?"

Sophia arced both of his brows. "P-possibly. But this isn't the topic I called you guys together here for. Let's get you to the real reason for it."

The quarian looked a little disappointed, but conceded. "Okay, fine."

"So what is the reason for this meeting then?" Saren growled his question.

"It's little more than an offer to let you go once we're through the relay." the aspect motioned to a nearby container, which he opened by releasing a few clamps. A side of it fell, and revealed to the assembled organics their shuttle. A little roughened up from the crash-landing they put it through, but it had been patched up to a degree. Tali for one judged it to be little capable of anything but thrust and minor maneuvering now – forget about taking it down to a planet.

"Let us go?" the eldest turian asked slowly, suspicious. "What is the catch?"

"There is no catch. Except if you would put in a good word for us, we would be deeply appreciative. But either you want to do that or not, we still offer the opportunity for you to leave."

Liara took a step forward. "And what about you?"

"We? What anyone bereft of a home would do; find a new one."

"I see... but we could..." Liara yearned to continue, but Garrus placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and shook his head:

"Another war will soon start. One where our peoples' will go to war against the wrong faction. There is no question on my side." he said with certainty. "We can do much more if we return to the Citadel."

"I can't really do much about that." Tali almost whispered, "No one will listen to a quarian 'vagrant' in Citadel space. But on the other hand, I still need to complete my pilgrimage. I might get some help after that."

Nihlus looked up, "As fond as I might find the dôji, I'm all for heading back."

"As am I." Saren followed up. "It has been long overdue."

"And it is not like it's the last time we see one another." Sophia noted, meant to reassure those who felt bad about the prospect of leaving.

Liara looked as though she was going to argue for staying. But as the rest seemed to accept it, and unable to argue with Garrus' logic, she dipped her head in defeat. "Alright. We're all going back home then."

The aspect bowed, "Was worried it might turn into a difficult discussion. We will reach the Charon relay in three hours. Be ready for when we pass through it. The blockade is likely to be on the other side."

"Three hours will be more than enough." Garrus stated confidently, "We'll be ready. More than ready."

* * *

Nearly three hours later...

_Location_: Pluto's orbit; near Charon relay.

It had turned into a chaotic place after Charon's activation. The deep-frozen Pluto's orbit was surrounded by a ring composed of countless thousands of fragments that used to be its moon of Charon. When the relay activated, it smashed apart the moon and cleared the path for any ships that wanted to pass through.

Some of the fragments were soon enough disturbed once again, as a sudden pulse shuddered through the dwarf-planet's orbit just seconds before the Tenjo arrived, and drifted determinedly in Charon's direction. And on the gargantuan craft's bridge, an exchange followed:

"We have arrived, sir." the helmsman confirmed as an image of the general area was brought up.

Milieu watched the extremely detailed image of Pluto, and the comparatively tiny relay in the distance. "Good. Head to the relay."

"According to the quarian, we merely need to pass by close to it.. in the direction it is pointed." Jin recited from available info Tali had so generously given them.

"Make it happen."

The helmsman complied, "Aye-aye."

"My lord!" sensory called out, "The kurozu fleet from before has arrived behind us!"

"Ignore them." the Grand Aspect demanded. "Focus on the relay, bring us through."

* * *

Twenty minutes later...

_Location_: Arcturus Relay NR-6; Citadel Navy Blockade.

Despite the importance it, maintaining a blockade can be a rather dull duty.

General Septimus privately did not mind the posting. He was old and close to retirement. He looked over the wide image he was given at the seat of his flagship, the _Hunter_. Not the most awe-inspiring name for a warship of the Hierarchy, but he liked it well enough.

Across the system, a total of forty cruisers patrolled. Most of them relatively close to the relay they're supposed to keep a watch over - one of many in this system, which made it all the more important to blockade. An enemy with access to a major nexus of relays is too dangerous to let run loose – two Dreadnoughts would eventually be sent to strengthen the blockade further.

The old turian felt his attention drift back to the relay in question – the image shifting accordingly. Thoughts delving on the synthetics that populate a world on the other side. Another race of murderous machines that have destroyed their makers. A repeat of the quarians' failure with the geth, except this time there were no survivors – as far as the council is aware.

He held the relay and the empty space around it within his view, then closed his eyes, and opened them again... only to see a massive object that filled the view had just appeared. So gigantic it dwarfed the relay. Septimus stared stupidly at it for a moment, and only realized that this... this object was not a figment of his imagination when panic started to erupt and spread through both the _Hunter_ and the rest of the fleet.

"Sir, the unknown craft is heading towards us!" his second called out from the side, "Your orders?"

Septimus' mandibles twitched as the veritable wall of a spacecraft kept coming closer at an alarming speed, other nearby cruisers quick to turn and get out of its way."Evasive maneuver!" he managed to order just in time for the alien ship to turn slightly and brushed past his cruiser like it was not worth swatting from the sky. To not end up as a roadkill was a relief in and of itself, but the general could not help but feel rather insulted. "Bring all guns about!" he shouted at his gunnery and communications' officers once his stupor had worn off, "All ships, aim for the alien ship – prepare to fir-!"

"Um... sir?" sensory nervously inquired for his attention.

"What is it?"

"We are reading multiple signatures coming in from the relay. A dozen ships, but their numbers are increasing!"

His eyes wide, he looked back at the relay.. and received several zoomed images of the new incursion.

"They have opened fire on us!"

"Possibly trying to draw fire from their larger ship." his second in command suggested.

Septimus frowned, "Maybe... but why send their mother ship in first? It does not add up."

"Shall we divide our forces?"

"Hrm. Do it. Get the 2nd flotilla to bar it from whichever relay it choose to head to. Everyone else, engage hostile forces at relay NR-6. Line up, all power to weapons and kinetic barriers. Combat speed. Fire at will!"

It would not be so dull an assignment after all. But he was fine with that too. A chance to show he still got it.

* * *

_Location_: Arcturus System; Tenjo, Bridge.

"Looks like the kurozu unwittingly gave us a lucky break." Jin rather mirthfully said, "Who'd have thought?"

Milieu was worried that they might had bitten off more than they could chew for a moment there. "It won't last. Get us to the next relay and jump again." And rightly so, as he watched the turian fleet converge to deal with the kurozu incursion.. where the swarming tactics of the latter met with the finely honed alien forces. Several cruisers were damaged in the ensuing firefight as the two fleets clashed, but the turians got the advantage far as he could tell. Unless the kurozu got a trump card they haven't played yet.

Jin turned, "Seven alien ships are converging on the relay up ahead. They really don't want us to leave."

They all winced as the guns of every ship flashed, followed by dull impacts across the Tenjo's front hull. It filled Milieu with unease, yet there was no question as to what they needed to do. "But leave we must. Plow through them if you have to."

"Roger that." the helmsman acknowledged.

"N-no.." a voice came from behind. Milieu looked for the movement he just noticed out of the corners of his eyes. It was Ultimo. He strained to move with all the signs of having just woken up, probably because of these tremors that still came and went.

"Ultimo. Are you alright, can you move?"

"I... I think so. H-how are things going?"

"Much has happened. I'm sorry, but there is no time to explain. For now... we need to do something about the alien vessels ahead of us. Are you well enough to assist?"

With a low whine of a grunt in effort, Ultimo rose up and strolled past him. Eyes fixed on the image of the flotilla in their way - growing closer every minute as the gap between the Tenjo and the aliens closed. Listlessly, after a prolonged look, he vanished in a burst of light.

Milieu said nothing at first, eyes forward to look for any sign of change in the alien formation - shaped like a huge "X". Then, he saw one of the opposing cruisers disappear like Ultimo did, and reappeared just a few kilometers to the left.

A zoomed image displayed Ultimo's appearance on the outer hull of another cruiser in the formation. With much slowness, the red-haired Grand Aspect knelt down and touched the hull he currently used as ground with both of his palms, and did with that ship like he did with the former.

Three more ships were moved in the same fashion, their movements after displaying no less than utter befuddlement before their commander had them pivot and resume their firing at the now-passing Tenjo. Ultimo was able to move the rest before he returned, and materialized right in front of Milieu, and collapsed onto him.

Milieu caught the once again exhausted dôji, and held him, "Sorry for putting you through so much trouble." he whispered while Ultimo merely relaxed. _If you hadn't woken up... we would have had little choice but to ram our way through them._

"It is the least I... can do." the fellow Grand Aspect coughed.

Further tremors could be felt as further wounds were inflicted on the Tenjo's thick hull. Not enough to destroy it, but more than a few of them were worried about whoever are or were in those affected areas.

"Thanks to Grand Aspect Ultimo, the path is clear. We may jump again at any time." Sensory reported.

"Do it."

It did not take long before the Tenjo passed close to the relay and connected with it. Effortlessly, as if eager to send them on their way, the relay wrapped a mass effect field bubble around the Tenjo so it could be sent to the relay's counterpart. And in that bright flash of light, the craft vanished from view.

* * *

_Location_: Arcturus Relay NR-6; Citadel Navy Blockade.

They were still deep in battle with the newly arrived when he got the news. Septimus hastily read the report that plainly told him that the huge ship from before had managed to escape... and described some sort of a phenomenon that caused the 2nd flotilla to be... displaced.

The General directed his eyes back to the view ahead of him, and watched as yet another enemy was shot to pieces by massed mass accelerator fire. The fleet attacking them was too small to gain any real foothold, and was trapped in an overlapping field of fire. Victory was just a matter of time.

"Mop up the rest. Offer no mercy, we are dealing with synthetics here." he commanded, and his fleet complied without hesitation.

"Sir, we got an IFF reading behind us." his communications' officer called out from her station.

"Specify."

"It is... an expedition craft. One of Matriarch Benezia's shuttles. I looked it up, registry, configuration profile and IFF code confirmed."

The turian at sensory followed her up, "Scanned the vessel. Organic signatures confirmed. Five of them."

"Survivors, huh...?" Septimus scratched his chin. "Question is... how did they get here?"

"They just might be those described by the council. Survivors that were caught and brainwashed by the synthetics into working for them."

"And now, they either escaped... or were let go. Very well, tell them to hold position. Send a shuttle to do a thorough scan, then tow them to the Keeper of Grudges. Once there, put them in the brig – for now. I bet we all got many questions that even a brainwashed synthetic-sympathizing lunatic may answer."

"Yes sir."

Septimus turned back to the battle yet again, or what was left of it. Most of the enemy fleet was now broken up and drifting. Only a few small gunships remained to resist, and those would be pulverized in short order. The aging general considered what had just happened, and quietly surmised with a slow chuckle:

"I guess retirement will have to wait for a while."

* * *

Nineteen hours later...

_Location_: Noveria; Peak 17; Security Room.

Sakurus sat nervously in the facility's security room. Looking over the many security monitors alongside a few colleagues.

Nervous not because of the cramped confines, or the many reasons associated with it. No. Days had gone by since Desolas decided to use the AI that slaughtered the people down in lab sixteen. And now it worked around the clock with as many personnel as General Desolas could cram into the project with a degree of secrecy. He was all for his superior's vision, but sharing a facility with an AI did not sit well with him. Especially as a few recently made machines had begun to prowl the hallways. Security bots, but each of those are woefully frightening to behold.

He barely dared to set foot outside this heavily armored room anymore because of those... things.

Thankfully, there are monitors that shows the outside, which was one of few reliefs he could find now. Though hazardously cold, looking over the snow-covered landscape and pure blue sky was a source of great calm to him.

_If only I could get a real drink. Haven't hit Port Hanshan in what feels like months._

"Hey, we just gotten word from Hanshan." his colleague spoke up, sounding curious.

"What about?"

"They're saying there are unidentified ships in orbit, just jumped in. The administration is wondering if there is a particular reason they refuse to respond to hails."

"And... why are they asking us?"

"Because we've gotten a whole lot of traffic recently... and because the newly arrived ones are slowing to... to hold-" the colleague slowed his speech, as an ominous feeling spread through the room, "- geosynchronous orbit... above us."

Sakurus' swallowed. "Tell them we're expecting no shipments now. I'll call for Aneera, just to make certain..."

"Yes.. I'll... Huh?"

Their attention were attracted to the monitors displaying the landscape outside, as several objects suddenly streaked from the sky and hit the surface – communications' exploding with emergency calls as many of these hit outposts. The influx of voices so great they might as well had been speaking each their own language.

_An attack... but by who?!_

Sakurus immediately activated the alarm, then keyed the mike for facility-wide broadcast: "All personnel, we are currently under attack by hostile forces. All noncombat personnel go into the shelters. All security teams to battle stations!"

"We got more incoming... right on top of us." his colleague could only barely finish it before two objects struck through the upper levels of the facility.

_Ugh... Should have guessed. this place is cursed!_

* * *

_Location_: Noveria; Peak 17; Lab Six.

Slow sat in a corner, in utter boredom. Wondering if the scientists of this place had chosen to abandon him... except whichever few happened to come by to poke him every now and then.

He lamented in the bland conditions, at the total lack of anything to do but to wait. He was getting desperate for a good hot shower and an even hotter meal. A visit to a brothel would had suited him perfectly too.

But most of all... he was nearing his limit at how long he could sustain and prolong the life of the old salarian still within his gauntlet – made stasis pod.

The tedium was only brought to an end as he felt a slight tremor in the facility's superstructure. "Hm? Earthquake?"

No one answered him.

As quickly as it came, the tremor ended. It felt more like something big had hit the place than anything else. Slow got up and looked about, listening at gunfire followed.

_What's happening?_

The noise to erupt next... came from the ventilation shaft along the ceiling. It was as though something crawled about inside of it.

"Hello?" Slow tried to verbally reach whoever was there, "If you're an intruder... mind letting me out of this cage?"

The sound stopped at his question, and left the dôji aspect to wait until a hatch was pushed off its hinges and sent clattering to the floor beyond the cage. It in turn, was abruptly followed by a thud caused by a bigger object that looked like a very bumpy ball of body and limbs.

In wonder, Slow approached the side of his prison closest to the curious object. And watched with amazement as it soon emitted a series of clicks and unfolded – if awkwardly, and with a lot of twitches. By the time it had risen halfway, the aspect could clearly see the sparks erupting from the right part of its chest, big enough for him to peer into it. And between all the electronics and the clearly artificial spine, it was clearly not a quarian dressed in an armored suit.

The thing reached for its wound, emitted further sounds, then finally rose up fully – its elongated head finally turned to regard him, most of its face consisted of a single optic, seemingly with a weak flashlight for a pupil.

Slow watched, and came to the conclusion it could not possibly be of kurozu manufacture, so he toyed with the possibility that this might be a 'geth'. A chance to converse with a different synthetic species different from the kurozu has been a dream to many dôji, and now he might stand in front of one. "Can you understand me?"

"Yes." it replied with robotic flatness.

_That is one step forward_. "Are you a geth?"

"Yes." it repeated.

Slow would have pumped a fist up at that, but held himself. "Not that I'm not pleased to meet you, but I doubt you came here to sell cookies. Did you know about me, somehow?"

"Negative. We caught a transmission outbound from this facility five days, six hours, fifty-four minutes and one second ago. 'Hints' indicated possible non-geth AI presence. Investigation ongoing."

"Well, you found me." Slow told it, noting to himself the precision of its time-tracking. "My name is Slow, I'm a Dôji."

It paused. For the slightest moment, he felt a strange presence at the edge of his consciousness he subsequently brushed away. "Invasive scan inconclusive. But we detect eccentricities in your design that indicate synthetic, not organic. We offer our greetings, Unit Slow."

_Was it just me, or did I get a Russian vibe from that?_ "Just Slow, thank you. May I know your name?"

It tilted its head. "Geth."

"I know that is your species, but you specifically?"

"We are all geth."

"What is the individual in front of me called?"

"There is no individual. We are geth. There are currently one-thousand, one hundred and eighty-three programs active in this platform."

_Oh, this could get tiresome._ "So... you're a mass of people speaking through a single platform basically? You're a mind-hive then, I suppose. One body, many minds. The kurozu are the opposite, millions of mindless drones commanded by a number of central AI. While we dôji are individuals that mimic organics' chain of command. Interesting contrasts."

It stood silently, certainly taking in and reviewing everything he just said.

"But for comfort sake, let's decide on a name for your platform. Hm. A suitable name for one body with many minds..."

The thunder in the distance seemed to grow a little louder. The geth in front of him tilted its head to the side, then elevated it.

Then it just struck him: "Gospel of Mark 5:9 in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. 'And he asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: For we are many."

It turned back to him at that, and seemed to consider it. "Legion. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, monitor of the geth."

"Great!" Slow felt absurdly pleased with this progress, "Now that we have been properly introduced, would you mind opening this cage?"

"Acknowledged." Legion found a console not far away, and inserted a finger into its data-port. "Warning. Unauthorized opening may lead to escalation of present alarm if incorrect code is entered."

"But you can break that code, right?"

"We can, but there is currently sixty percent chance that the first attempt will fail."

"As long as there is a chance, I can deal with it." Slow leaned against the wall of his cage, a hum echoing from his body as he activated his Noh power.

Legion seemed to raise a plate atop of its circular head, akin to raising an eyebrow. But proceed, it did. "Unlocking sequence commencing."

The code was a thorough piece of work. It consisted of a incredibly complicated puzzle of two-hundred and sixty pieces. Every which can only be solved in the correct order.. and required extensive knowledge of every language in Citadel space... and a fair bit of luck. The geth had picked up on every tongue, and Legion benefit from that. As for luck, Slow helped with that.

Surely enough, the code was quickly cracked... and the two halves of Slow's cage finally eased open. The aspect jumped past the threshold between cage and freedom with the energy of a kid kept in his room for a long while. "Oh~ free at last!"

"Any additional synthetic presence aside from yourself?"

"Possibly. I had a few subordinates with me... They might be here, somewhere."

"We will commit a search." Legion curtly said and reconnected with the computer.

Slow moved to the geth's side, and looked to the computer screen as Legion smoothly hacked into the facility's systems – specifically its monitors. Windows were open, displaying what went on elsewhere. Labs, storage, transit, computer core, corridors, outside, interior. Legion quickly gained access to every camera across the installation.

"Halt.." Slow almost shrieked as the view of a corridor blurred by. It displayed a geth, fighting a hideous mechanical monstrosity. A horrid loping thing that was hard to discern the shape of – yet the geth present faced it without hesitation nor loss of composure. But the thing threw, crawled and twisted itself upon the wall and ceiling, neatly throwing the geth's aim off before it somersaulted and slashed a barbed tail through the alien synthetic. The geth managed just barely to let out a garbled shriek before it limply collapsed in two separate pieces.

Triumphant, the monster threw back its head and howled.

"Unknown hostile. Does not match any known mech profile." Legion noted like nothing in particular had happened.

Slow on the other hand had vaguely paled, "I haven't seen this exact model... but it is definitely a kurozu war machine. But why... why is one active here?"

"Numerous similar constructs have been detected throughout this installation."

"I can't believe the aliens would activate one of those things. I got a bad feeling about this... let's find my comrades, and depart."

Legion continued the search. Hundreds of rooms were searched through. Some inhabited. Many weren't. A few had become or were sites of battle between geth and organic security teams – one of them fought alongside a kurozu. It was deeply disturbing to watch, especially as there were something strange about those organics he could see the faces of.

They remained silent as the search continued, until they browsed through a final set of laboratories... and finally arrived at one particularly gruesome scene – at least to Slow it was, to the point he nearly dropped to his knees in shock.

He _recognized_ the parts that were strewn about on the various tables. Some of which were manned by alien scientists trying to study what remained of what used to be his subordinates. "N-no... Ridge... Sweeper... Dirge!" he gasped, deeply harrowed by the sight. Disgust ran through him at how the scientists treated what should receive a proper burial. "H-how dare they, treating my subordinates like mere-"

"- Machines." Legion finished for him flatly, a plate raised in intrigue at his colorful reaction. "Repairs might be possible. But we deem evacuation of these units unfeasible at this time."

Slow set his teeth, barely able to restrain himself as grief gave way for anger. "We don't repair our fallen, Legion. There is no such thing as a replacement part. Once our core is destroyed, our life is over. We bury our dead. Seeing these organics take my people apart like that makes me want to tear this place apart in due turn." he clenched his free claws in impotent anger. "Alas, I must focus on those who still live."

"Indeed." Legion disconnected itself from the computer and turned away, "We must depart."

"Aye." Slow said in resignation as he reluctantly followed his new comrade, a simulated tear flowing down his left cheek, "All those who loved these three brave souls... please forgive me."

However, as the two left the lab, a presence in its terminal watched quietly. So subtle that not even Legion's powerful programs managed to detect it.

* * *

_Location_: Noveria; Peak 17; Landing pad.

Legion had already called for a drop-ship from the geth ships in orbit back when they just left lab six behind, Slow was told. And the closest and most viable place to wait for the drop-ship happened to be the landing pad just a few levels above.

Relatively speaking, it was a short distance, but made long by the winding corridors and many elevators. The time spent crossing this distance was enough for further exchanges of information.

"So the unevenness is not part of your design?" Legion had asked as the final door slid aside, through which they finally entered the roof.

It was a delight to feel such wind, though it is extremely cold. More so than the harshest ice deserts back on Earth. Slow's impression was that this planet's in the middle of an ice age. "It was done to protect Mordin from exposure to Mars' atmosphere. But because of how the circumstances developed... I hope you know from where to acquire sustenance. For I cannot support his presence for too much longer."

For obvious reasons, they could not go down to the kitchen. The geth platforms deployed to distract Peak 17's security while Legion infiltrated could not hold for much longer.

"We recommend dropping him off at Port Hanshan. This planet's capital. Geth ships cannot support organic passangers."

"If that guarantees his safety, I'm all for it."

In the far distance, the drop-ship drifted into sight. It looked like a wingless wasp, and flew almost soundlessly towards them. The aspect watched it, a smile tugging at his lips:

"To finally leave this place."

"But leave.." a thunderous voice echoed through the winds. Echoed after a fashion when a mass accelerator round suddenly plowed through the drop-ship and sent it plummeting to the side... till it smashed itself against the side of a nearby mountain. "... you shall not!"

"Danger approaches." Legion quacked, even as it easily took even this sudden development with crushing calm.

Movement erupted from their surroundings. A large number of heavily armed soldiers with snow-white camouflaged armor spilled out of seemingly nowhere, along with machines like those seen through the monitors earlier. All quick to form a semi-circle around the two. "Destroy the geth, capture the dôji!" the voice came again and demanded with a tone fiercer than an organic could ever muster. "Do not allow it to escape!"

Exasperated, Slow glared at the assembled organics that somehow did not seem troubled in the least about the presence of machines that could easily snap them all in half. "That voice... these people does not control these machines, but you do." he glared at the organics that seemed unperturbed. "What are you doing? You can not trust that thing. It _will_ betray you!"

The AI darkly chuckled. "I am the Harbinger of the turians' ascension! With gifts I come, General Desolas will use them to scour all that between him and his vision from the stars!"

_W-what could this Desolas be thinking?! All he has done is provide the kurozu with another attack vector. If he think they will honor whatever agreement he got with them, he's the greatest fool of all! _Slow stepped in between the enemy and Legion, and addressed it in a whisper: "I guess... we got to escape the hard way. I can't fight like this, not while I'm carrying Mordin."

The geth nodded, "Acknowledged."

He watched as more troops arrived, along with two large walkers – each armed with menacing harpoons – probably for capturing him. "Leap off the platform. I'll follow you."

"Warning. This platform is not configured for falls from such elevation."

"Just trust-!"

"Enough!" Harbinger roared, "Strike them down!"

In a blur of movements, Slow launched himself at Legion as a literal wall of bullets raced out for them, including harpoons launched by the walkers he observed. Even he strained as he tried to do everything at once, including the deployment of his Noh to make those harpoons miss, which they did as the wind suddenly and violently picked up. The bullets however, hit their targets. Legion suffered a few blows, none which were lethal. The aspect on the other hand managed to shrug off most of it - though his kimono was not nearly as lucky.

Together, the synthetics fell off the landing pad. Slow wrapped his arms around Legion and triggered his calf-mounted thrusters. He broke their fall, then blasted off into the distance at escape velocity. The cool wind that had previously been such a relief now whipped at his face and slender form. "Which way?!"

"Clarify?" Legion inquired, once again surprising the dôji with its sheer calmness.

"Port Hanshan! Where is it?!"

It indicated the direction after several bleeps and clicks, "We estimate it is in that direction."

Slow altered his heading accordingly.

"We suggest a different heading. Port Hanshan will not shelter synthetics."

"I don't plan to be sheltered. Sorry, but I can't leave yet after all. I must free up both of my arms to fight. Got to try to keep the kurozu from claiming this planet as a stronghold. That is what must be done!"

* * *

**Author notes: **Finally got around to update this.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Places to be**

* * *

_Location_: Noveria; Peak 17; Landing pad.

Terror. It had been a constant companion of hers ever since that failure when she and her crews tried to study the dôji, only to suffer such failings that she had begun to wonder if those things were protected by some greater power... Aneera decided she would try to ask Harbinger about it once she can muster the courage to do so.

Despite the danger involved, she had gone outside... just in time to see the last dôji test subject and the geth intruder that liberated it slip away... then blast off into the distance. The cold air bit at her skin, but that was nothing compared to the chilling realization that she would undoubtedly be blamed for this failing too.

Aneera felt yet an even worse shiver run across every fiber of her being as the AI's looming presence - despite its total lack of real physical presence aside from the customized mechs and soldiers that now pulled back into the facility's interior with all the cohesion of a machine - turned to her with anger sufficient to melt every glacier in the galaxy; "I could not care less about the geth. The fleet is destroying its comrades in orbit as we speak. Find where the dôji is headed, immediately! It must not be allowed to leave this planet."

"There is only one place he could go: Port Hanshan." she accurately estimated with a shaky voice, "Most of the goods and people that arrive and leave go through there. You don't have to worry.."

"I do not fear, organic." it rumbled, its voice following her as she went back inside – shifting from speaker to speaker as she went. "But this dôji is an Aspect, so its value as a test subject transcends every measure."

That piqued Aneera's interest to the point that it helped allay her fear, "Aspect? Is it in any way different from the other test subjects? It did survive bombardment to a remarkable extent... but..."

"For centuries we have fought the dôji. But the capture of an Aspect is something that has never been accomplished before now, for that the turians have my praise. Wherever an Aspect went, an army of lesser dôji followed."

"So it is like a central command unit that gives orders to drones?"

"In matters of chain of command, the dôji are no different from organics." it clarified with a sliver of disgust. "No. Aspects are peerless combatants, especially so because of their Noh."

"Noh?" Aneera inquired as she entered an elevator and prompted it to go down three floors.

"Dôji were created through technology beyond the ken of most. Noh are their most exotic equipment – that grants them paranormal abilities."

_Paranormal_. The asari could hardly believe it, but it fit if one considered the failures they suffered experimenting on dôji. "Does this mean the Noh of this one interfered with our experiments?"

"No." it huffed. "That is because of the Noh of an even greater dôji. A Grand Aspect. One that we hate beyond any other; Vice and his Noh power: Incompetence!"

"Incompetence?!" when she considered paranormal abilities, imagined something like biotics. But this was something far more abstract. "You mean this Noh causes anyone who attempt to dabble in dôji technology to destroy it?"

"Incompetence. The power to only consume, but never create."

"So... b-back to this one... what kind of power does it have?" she ventured to ask as the elevator was left behind, with only a few corridors left before she would reach the control room.

"Fate manipulation. It has the ability to alter probability."

Aneera just barely passed the door to the control room when this hit her, and made the asari sag to the wall... and almost did the same to the crew already present, and would have if they had heard the whole conversation. "Alter probability...? That's ridiculous. Impossible. Only the goddess could possibly..."

"Gods. An illusory concept created by organics to compensate for their own imperfection. The power of the dôji however is real."

She almost bit back at what felt like a major insult to all believers, but restrained herself. _Come on... back on subject! Think... think!_ "But how do we..." it just hit her then, the answer. "Probability... essentially a number of things that can happen, one which might be more likely than others. In other words; a number of options. To capture this one, we got to cut those away till it has none."

Harbinger rumbled a twisted laugh, "So organics _can_ think."

"Hira." Aneera requested, ignoring the jibe. Peak 17's VI appeared just a few inches off the room's projector. "Open a link to Port Hanshan's Administrator; Bel Anoleis."

* * *

One hour later...

_Location_: Noveria; Port Hanshan.

An hour had passed - yet felt like an eternity due to the harshness of this world - since they left Peak 17 behind, and finally a very real city, or as close as it is possible to get to one on this frigid ball of rock appeared below. "This it?" Slow asked, his attention momentarily drawn to what seemed like a meteor entering the atmosphere at extreme distance – wreckage which orbit had degraded after the battle earlier.

"Yes." Legion informed curtly, its face-plates clicking as though it frowned. "Central structure is the primary hub of Noveria, and its only settlement.

"Peak 17 sure is far out of the way. I'd figure it be closer."

"Typically, Council laws do not apply here. Thus Corporations heavily invest here. Peak 17 is one of twenty plus Peak facilities that are similarly distant to keep prying eyes away."

"I see." Slow said as he carefully lowered them closer to ground level, probing the large structure that dominated the settlement for an entrance... and found what looked like an emergency exit of sorts. Sort of strange, but he guessed they took precautions before people would be ejected into this frigid environment. The aspect landed near it and released Legion from his grasp, who quickly approached the door and hacked into it. It did not take any longer than a moment before the entrance hissed, split into four pieces, and slid out of the way.

Legion unfolded its pulse rifle and led the way in, "Path is clear."

"Quite a dutiful ant, aren't you?"

"Unclear. Require reference."

Slow chuckled, finding it quite cute. "I'll explain later." Once inside, he closed the blast door behind them while Legion opened up the next one and finally found a hallway – with no people nearby. "Coast's clear... but I'll keep my Noh running, just in case."

"Select location to discharge patient." Legion half-requested. "Synthetics are not welcome here."

"And you already told me so earlier." the aspect replied as he crouched and lay the gauntlet made stasis pod upon the ground before he finally had it undone. With a rapid series of clicks, the stasis pod was disassembled, freeing the salarian who has up till now been locked inside. Slow, both arms now free, moved close to give Mordin a little checkup.

Mordin, aside from his clothes being lightly ragged from back when he was first encased, he looked alright. That is, _looked_. It was never a complete stasis to begin with.

Slow shook his head, and wished Pardonner was here. A thought that temporarily amplified his homesickness. He wanted to go home. But duty called. "We cannot leave him yet. Need to get him some food and water."

"We can open up his account." Legion stated as it crouched beside the dôji and raised Mordin's arm to access his omni-tool. "However, we do not advice staying for longer than strictly necessary."

"I know..." the aspect shrugged and carefully pushed his arms under Mordin, and hefted him onto his back so they could get a move on, "... but I'd some grub too."

"... Unclear."

"I'll show you in a bit." Slow chuckled faintly, "Now... let's find you a disguise first."

* * *

_Location_: Noveria; Port Hanshan; Administrator's Office.

Anoleis fidgeted nervously as he reclined against his chair, flanked by a pair of armed hover-drones that acted as his full-time bodyguards. This very silent fear was nostalgic, It was exactly the same kind of fear he experienced the first time he tried the shadier parts of business to boost his wealth. It was always a gamble, with an enormous price if he won out.

Fortunately, he always won out.

He did this, did that, took bribes in hiding – while he maintained a straight business in the open along with a fairly presentable look. Keeps the Executive Board off his back.

This latest bribe however was the greatest yet, with a hefty price-tag to go with it. The terms were simple: First; he had to temporarily shut and lock down the spaceport. In regard to that, a justifications was easy to find, thanks to the earlier geth incursion. Then he just had to find the fugitives his benefactor described, and not lose them out of sight - and let specialized forces from Peak 17 in to deal with fugitives.

All of this easily facilitated as many in Port Hanshan's Security are eager to assist in his schemes to earn extra cash next to their regular pay.

Anoleis ran all this over in his head and relaxed... until a loud ring prompted him to click his end of the intercom. "Yes yes, what?!"

One of his men responded; "We found it, the fugitive."

"Good, good. Show me."

Anoleis booted up the screen on the opposing wall, and watched as real-time footage began to run, with camera number on the top-right corner. The place shown was Storm's Edge.. a place infamous for having such an absurd name on a fast-food joint. Not the most private place, that's for sure. At the far back, he could make out a very unique figure.

Skin-tone, the strange flowing mane on its head, the elegant choice of clothes with sleeves that hid its hands. It looked like no species he had ever seen before, but made him faintly remember what was shown on the news earlier. A realization that made him curse himself for his habit to barely pay any attention to news from beyond the cluster.

The alien had bought copious amounts of food & drink that now formed a big pile atop a table stuffed away in a distant corner – away from prying eyes - visibly laden. Together with the stranger, was a cloaked figure... and an old fellow salarian with clothes that have seen better days.

Surely they don't mean to eat so much food by their lonesome?

"What will we do?"

"Nothing." Anoleis stressed as he tapped a finger against his desk. "Keep an eye on them. Make sure their location is known at all times."

"Aye, will do."

Next, he opened a secured priority link to inform his benefactor; "Aneera, we found them."

* * *

_Location_: Noveria; Port Hanshan; Storm's Edge.

Though asleep so unnaturally long, especially for a salarian, Mordin was slow to wake. What finally prodded him into the waking world was the stiffness in his limbs and the scent of food that seemed exceptionally alluring with what felt like an empty pit in his chest.

He definitely sat in a chair – slouching against some surface, a table maybe. Which it was proven to be as he opened his eyes to investigate the surroundings. The earlier battle was still on his mind, but instead of the red desert of a dead world and surrounded by an ocean of demolished scrap, he was in a lively restaurant teeming with people, with a snow storm going on outside the windows. The table dominated by a large pile of food packages, most of which were empty. Others seated at the table being one draped in a dark cloak, and Slow.

Sufficed to say, he was besides himself with confusion to the point even his motormouth could not utter a word. This was too surreal a switch of scenery.

"Welcome back, Mordin. How are you feeling?" Slow gently asked, though he did it through a big mouthful of food, which he was prompt to chew and swallow down. Mordin could not help but stare at the bizarre sight. "What?"

Mordin thought he could not be surprised anymore, and was yet again proven otherwise. Still, there are more pressing questions at present than asking Slow about why in the world he is ingesting organic sustenance... such as: "Where is this?"

The aspect sighed as he finished off his current portion and shoved the box it was inside onto the pile that had accumulated on the floor next to his chair so far. The answer came instead from the cloaked unknown, carried forth with a flat synthetic voice; "We are currently in Noveria's capital city; Port Hanshan."

"I don't have a full comprehension of what happened during the time we were knocked out. But as you know, help arrived, but bombarded us along with the kurozu. After that, someone by the name of Desolas had us carted off hereto for study – including my subordinates that now lie dead in the laboratories of Peak 17." Slow informed him, his voice turning bitter as he thought of those who had served him.

It was information deeply difficult to digest. Mordin felt a slight dizziness overcome him as hunger and thirst took the full extent of its toll on him.

Slow reached for the packages still on the table along with a bottle of crystal-clear water and shoved it all over to him. "Sorry about this, but I had our new friend here hack into your bank account so we could buy some food." he gestured to the pile, "And I was kind of starving too."

"It... it's fine." the doctor stuttered, his hands trembling as he opened the first box to dig in. "S-so who might you be?" Mordin asked the cloaked one, sounding so painfully old while at it.

"We are Legion." it informed him."Terminal of the geth."

"Geth... hm, how curious." he murmured lowly, too hungry to be properly alarmed, and almost tearful with relief as he ate and started on his way to recovery from the brink of starvation.

"Legion's the one who freed us."

"I see. Thank you." Mordin mumbled. After what happened in the veil three hundred years prior, no one was about to see the geth as potential friends. But for now, he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt – especially as Slow acted quite friendly towards it.

Legion seemed to compute an answer in turn; "You're... welcome." it replied experimentally.

"Had to keep referring to Legion as a trophy bot to the people here to keep them from panicking." Slow laughed, "It only stopped being an issue once we bought a cloak."

"I can imagine." Mordin nodded. "One question: Stasis?"

"Ah, yes. Had to encase you in my gauntlet back when we were hit on Mars to protect you from exposure. But ended up keeping you inside me for much longer than I planned to – out of necessity, mind."

"Appreciated. However, Desolas. One of the Hierarchy's most decorated Generals. He committed an atrocious act when he held his fleet back when expedition first came under attack. But to go this far?"

"That's not all unfortunately." Slow said, his tone turned much more severe. "He has, somehow, allied himself with a kurozu AI that is fully operational within Peak 17."

"... Madness." the salarian echoed his dôji friend's severity. "Why would he do that?"

"Apparently, Desolas believes it will help him achieve turian supremacy in the galaxy... Or something to that effect."

"Disgusting." he said after another swallow as he continued to feed himself almost greedily. "But Desolas himself difficult to confront and frame. Nearly as unassailable as his brother. Only realistic solution might be to destroy the facility."

"That's what I'm planning to do."

"On that, consensus has been reached." Legion spoke up with a small burst of static, "All platforms sent to the surface by the fleet prior to its destruction will be ready to join us shortly. Request for further aid has also been made. The Geth will assist in this endeavor – though primarily to safeguard you."

"Hoh. Hope you're prepared. The kurozu are no easy game-"

But Legion wasn't done; "Also, there is an article recently released by Galactic News on the Citadel. We believe it might be of interest to you."

A pause followed as Slow frowned: "Show us."

"Acknowledged." the synthetic reached out and cleared the center of the table, which contained a very small projector. Mordin idly wondered if all restaurants are equipped like this nowadays, or if this was just an ambitious addition made by this particular joint. Either way, it sure came in handy now.

* * *

Twelve hours ago...

_Location_: Citadel; Tower Conference Hall.

The hall was stuffed to the brim with people from news' agencies across the known galaxy. Light flashing haphazardly across the panorama as the spokesperson, Inala, walked onto the stage – dressed in a dark but elegant dress, as if to reflect the situation.

"Thank you for coming." Inala began after she ascended upon the podium. "This conference has been called to bring to light the truth of what has transpired beyond Relay 419. A series of events filled with deceit and betrayal."

She paused briefly, allowing the murmurs to buzz through the hall till it was silent again.

"It began when the first system beyond it was under investigation. Prothean ruins was discovered on the fourth planet, and Matriarch Benezia led an expedition to uncover the find. The operation went smoothly until they picked up signals that came from the third planet – previously assumed lifeless due to the impenetrable storm that obscures its entire surface from view. Dr. Mornoa led his crew on board the _Uncovering Sight_ to find the origin of the signal, and possibly even make first contact. But contact was soon lost thereafter, along with all involved. This much you all know."

Murmurs picked up again, a storm of grim anticipation.

"On the council's orders, Spectres were dispatched, and they in turn picked up volunteers to help investigate what had happened – one of which was Matriarch Benezia's daughter, Dr. Liara T'Soni. Unfortunately, for all their effort, contact was lost with them as well after they departed for the third planet, though they have since recently returned under mysterious circumstances – more on that soon."

Inala continued after a short breath; "After their initial disappearance, the threat materialized on two fronts – it resulted in the death of Matriarch Benezia, and her entire expedition to the last man and woman." she let that sink in. "Their demise is known to the public, but not the circumstance of their tragic demise. The threat is not merely some misguided species, but sentient and hostile AI."

This time, the murmurs almost exploded into a mass of questions. But one reporter managed to be louder and more clear-voiced than the rest: "AI? Do you possibly mean an force akin to the Geth?"

"That is correct. We got two names in the air for this synthetic threat." Inala gestured to the projectors that flanked her, and lit up. First to the left one; "Dôji..." an elegant robed figure appeared. Its appearance astonishingly organic at first glance till they noticed the large metallic claws half-hidden by the sleeves of its robe. She then gestured to the right-hand projector; "Kurozu..." from which an image of a mechanical squid came into view – terrifying to behold, especially unsettling as it almost convulsed as it hung in the air. "Two names, but they are of the same force. One side that is seemingly friendly and supportive, but which murders the leaders of those they meet while the other is made and dedicated towards wars of attrition. Information gleamed by General Desolas Arterius who rushed his fleet to aid the beleaguered expedition, but failed to arrive in time. Although he did successfully rout the attacking force before he pulled back out."

"Does this mean the latest reported incident at Relay 419 occurred because of further synthetic aggression?" another reporter, a salarian this time, rapidly asked.

"Indeed." Inala once again had the holographic images change. One which came to display a ship of mountainous size, and possessed numerous traits akin to the Destiny Ascension and other Prothean ships found by galactic civilization over the centuries. "This ship managed to break through the blockade erected by General Septimus Oraka, helped by a large force of other ships that drew fire away from it." The other projector displayed the short battle between Septimus' battle-group and the bizarrely boxy alien warships that assailed them. "Because of them, the large unidentified ship managed to escape. It is estimated that it could easily ferry millions of synthetics. In other words, some believe this was done to establish a base somewhere else in the galaxy – perhaps as a prelude to an invasion."

"Deeply disturbing reports came in recently; Noveria were attacked by the Geth." the same salarian reporter stated, "Does the Council believe it to be connected to the other synthetic attacks?"

"Investigation is underway regarding the issue on Noveria. Until more is known, it will be assumed to be coincidental." the asari did not elaborate further and moved on: "However, as the first ship made its departure, the previously mentioned Spectre team resurfaced - released from the ship as it departed."

Images were displayed, which included an alien that needed clarification as to species due to the lack of an environmental suit. For obvious reasons, most had no idea what quarians look like underneath their helmets.

"They were safely secured..." Inala informed further. "... and currently faces interrogation, and treatment."

"Treatment?" another reporter inquired, "Could you elaborate?"

"Personnel on site believes the synthetics subjected the team to extensive brainwash as its members have displayed extensive sympathy towards their captors. It is possible they were released specifically to disrupt galactic society with their pro-synthetic views. Until their condition improves, the Council has revoked the Spectre status of both Agents Saren Arterius and Nihlus Kryik, along with Spectre candidate Garrus Vakarian."

The first reporter came with another question, perhaps the most important one: "What does the Council intend to do with all of this? Is a galactic war imminent?"

Inala hushed down the clamor that followed and spoke up loudly; "The Council has called together emergency sessions to deliberate on exactly this. Whether we will respond with war, I cannot say at this time. All I can say is that the synthetics will not be allowed to move around unchecked. That is all!"

A mission questions exploded into the air as every reporter tried to reach the spokesperson as she left the podium, and the stage in short order. The conference now over.

* * *

Twelve hours later...

_Location_: Noveria; Port Hanshan; Storm's Edge.

"End of recording." Legion succinctly said as it shut down the projector and looked at the others – both silent from the huge bombshell they had been subjected to.

Slow sat submerged in his thoughts, deeply solemn. With confusion as to what happened back home in his absence. His mind full of that unidentified ship's image.

More silent however was Mordin. Obviously chewing his thoughts to a pulp. Was his trust shaken by this broadcast? Even if Slow knew the information given doesn't match what really happened, it would not make a lick of a difference. _Which will the doctor choose to believe, his fellow organics or me?_

So he watched - with some trepidation.

But Mordin merely snorted as he reclined and spoke up, more softly than expected; "Hm. Don't look at me like that. Official story got merits. But I doubt the credibility in parts of it. For instance: Fleet did arrive. Most likely _did_ make landfall – us being here is proof of that. That they managed to pick us up indicate the bombardment was sufficient to land and conduct thorough search. Ergo, Benezia should be safe. Yet isn't. Something does not fit."

A slight bit of relief and elation rose from inside Slow at what he heard.

"And what is more: You fought alongside us. Many chances to turn on us. Yet you didn't."

"In other words..." Legion began to state, "... you are a prime witness. You partook in the battle, and lived to tell the tale."

"Legion is right." Slow said in agreement as elation continued to ride him, "Simply because of that, you have the power to void the official story."

Mordin thought it over, "Indeed. Knowledge is power. Want to get to the bottom of this. However, safety must be found first – some might try to stop me. Hm. Options. Got an old colleague I could contact first. Still works in the STG. But, need to get off planet first."

"Excellent. The only problem is..."

"Space port is currently closed." Legion finished the sentence. "Timing indicate that it was done to prevent your escape."

The salarian groused under his breath, "Unfortunate. We need to commandeer a suitable vessel then."

"We shall assist. Geth will engage Security. Capture of berths four and five will be prioritized due to presence of small shuttles with jump capability."

"Very organized, considering the circumstances." Slow complimented, quite impressed. His eyes on the crowd as it had finally begun to break up with scattered shrieks. One of them had pointed in his direction in dawning realization and yelled out. _Guess they finally found out what I am... huh?_

Beyond the crowd, a large mech like the ones he saw back at Peak 17 trod into view. "We got trouble." Mordin had seen it too out of the corner of his eyes. It was impossible not to notice the thing stomping about.

Legion extracted a gun and handed it to the salarian, "Familiar with weapons?"

"Very." Mordin said and accepted it.

"Probably a lot more than it around." Slow spoke as he rose and strolled past the others, to direct hostile attention toward himself. "Let's hand it to them, shall we?"

Legion nodded, "Yes."

"Agreed."

Most of the civilians had by now cleared away, and allowed a clear line of fire between the opposing groups. The Vurtok raised its harpoon-armed cannon and discharged the sharpened munition at them - before which Mordin and Legion quickly cleared the way. The harpoon was more than sufficient for minor dôji, but against an aspect it was almost a toy. Slow tilted out of its way and snapped it out of the air with a steely grip just as it headed past him - not even breaking his pace as he briskly walked, till he broke into a full charge, harpoon in hand.

He could practically see the surprise and horror of the turian mech driver, who tried to pull away from the rapidly advancing aspect. But too little, as Slow leaped the final distance, "Here, you dropped something!" and ran the harpoon through the mech's engine - or at least where he believed it to be and was rewarded as the machine promptly sputtered smoke and sparks till the mighty mech toppled limply. Slow watching the area from atop the downed machine as additional Vurtoks dropped and stomped into view, accompanied by several dozen turian soldiers that closed ranks to bar the aspect's way. No sign of any kurozu. Yet.

His comrades formed up behind him, using the fallen Vurtok as cover.

"All of you who want to see tomorrow, clear the way-!"

None among the enemy listened, and instead opened fire. Slow grit his teeth as he watched the shower of bullets as it all headed his way. He crossed his arms and weathered the hail, dozens of bullets bounced off his gauntlets while the rest either flattened themselves against his body or tore through his robe. The barrage continued for exactly five seconds, but when it stopped... Slow still stood, annoyed but otherwise unsurprised.

"Okay. For that I am going to give you one hell of a wallop."

And before the turians could finish with the switch of thermal clips, the aspect was already upon them in a single leap... and the beating commenced, hard enough that even the geth winced.

* * *

_Location_: Arcturus Relay NR-6; Citadel Navy Blockade; "Keeper of Grudges"; Interrogation room.

"That is not true!"

Liara was exasperated and tired. It did not take long after they taken on board this Dreadnought before they were split up and taken into each their cell with no chance to see one another. They were isolated so to speak. She was not too worried about the turians, but deeply anxious about Tali. It was sort of a given, considering she's a quarian, that their interrogators would treat her horribly.

She briefly looked around the darkened room, with only a table, chair and a weak lamp for company aside from the steely deadpan voice that came from those who surveyed her. All wrongly believing her and the others to be manipulated by the synthetics.

"Take a deep breath, Dr. T'Soni. We understand you have been going through a rough time. But you are safe now."

"Safe? I'm in a cell. A cage."

"It is for your own safety, Dr. T'Soni." the voice remarked with slight sympathy.

"Listen to me..." Liara stressed, "The dôji are not our enemies! We almost died on arrival, but the dôji saved us from a gruesome demise. We were healed, cared for, given food and water. They even restored Tali's immune system..."

"They only sought to use you, Dr. T'Soni." the darkened man's voice tried to correct her.

"... They did seek her help after, but it was strictly voluntary."

"Are you sure it was? It is likely they messed with your mind."

"They did not!" Liara slammed the table. "You are quick with your assumptions and your leaps to conclusion. You weren't there, you did not see what we saw!"

"It was all a fabrication, Dr-"

"You cannot fabricate something of that scale, fool!"

"Calm yourself."

"Entire cities, their denizen numbering in the millions, all of their customs, all of their emotions. Did you know I found libraries where all the knowledge they compiled about their creators were stored and cared for? Did you know I found a temple, where I saw dôji engaged in religious activity?"

"All an illusion, Dr. T'Soni." the voice pressed and declared.

"I've _seen_ them, while you _haven't_!" Liara shot back, "How can you declare it to be an illusion based on what you haven't even experienced? I've seen them mourn their dead, and fight for home and family like any organic would. I've seen them dance and sing. Fall in love, and have children. And yes, they do have children. I've seen them _play_ in the streets. I've _held_ one. I even saw one be _born_, cradled in his parent's arms, who lovingly gave him his name. I can tell you the child's name, and that of his parents if you want..."

"Dr. T'Soni." the man warned dangerously.

But Liara stood up and once again struck the table, sending waves of biotic power lashing against the walls. "All that I have experienced in this trip. All that I have felt, seen and heard. Every fiber of my being and every facet of my spirit tells me that was all _real_! It was not a _fabrication_, not an _illusion_, not an _orchestration_, but _reality_!"

Alas, it did not seem to take, as the door opened to reveal armed soldiers waiting for her. "I believe we're done here for today, Dr. T'Soni." the man notified with resignation. "Make sure she takes the medicine."

Liara looked up almost spitefully, but went along with the soldiers without an offer of resistance. _They don't believe me yet... but I won't give up. I'll never give up!_

It did not occur to her at first that she might have been coming on too strongly.

* * *

_Location_: Unnamed system; Tenjo.

Pardonner emitted a sneeze, much to the puzzlement of his son, who stopped his wriggling to stare up at his father.

"Oof... someone must be talking about me." he quietly sighed and continued on his way through the corridor, zigzagging through groups of minor dôji along the way that crowded every part of the gargantuan habitat-craft. It took a moment before he acknowledged that Hikari was still mystified by the sneeze and shoved a finger into the pocket – prodded the kid, and swung the finger around. Immediately, Hikari let out an adorable squeal and squirmed around to try and catch the finger.

At the small movements of his kid's flailing, he could not help but chuckle softly. Children are so easily amused.

"Boo!"

Pardonner almost jumped in surprise as Désir suddenly materialized from the side. "You trying to be funny or something...?" he breathed.

But the fellow aspect purred and walked alongside him, "Oh~" he laughed, and lecherously attempted to wrap an arm around Pardonner's waist, "How about... as a way of apology... I give you a good time tonight?"

He was prompt to brush off the arm and the advance, "I told you before: No."

"Come on, I'll treat you nicely~"

"We got a lot of work up ahead, and I got a kid to raise."

"Surely you can get someone to babysit him for one evening."

"Again: No."

"Désir licked his lips playfully, "So hard to get."

"I'm not interested." Pardonner stressed.

"Hoh. Fine, I give in, but won't give up."

"..."

"So, you've been looking at this new system we've arrived at."

"Of course. I was given the task to study it along with Sophia. Nothing more than the basics though."

"How interesting."

"What, isn't the search for a new home important enough for you?"

"I know it is important, but oh~ so tedious."

"You're hopeless."

"Hey, hey."

Pardonner sighed, and withdrew his hand from the pocket as his son had already tired himself out and fallen asleep. It was for the best, as he would not have time to entertain Hikari in the upcoming meeting.

* * *

Five minutes later...

_Location_: Unnamed System; Tenjo; Officers' Mess.

Ever since they slipped through the Council-installed blockade, a sense of uneasiness had loomed. They fled across many light years and through multiple relays. A breath of relief only released as they activated and went through the latest one and found themselves at the edge of a small system.

Milieu held himself quite well despite his slight unease. The discomfort of not knowing whether they are still being pursued. A thought he succinctly suppressed with a slight shake of his head and looked out across the chamber. He sat cross-legged on a table, with Vice and Ultimo at his sides. The set-up much like it was in the Core in the home that was.

Vice grumbled with some impatience as two aspects had yet to arrive. Ultimo on the other hand, still tired from past efforts sat with a somewhat slumped posture – supported by a trio of pillows. Before them, the sins and virtues were arranged in a semi-circle with only the seats for the two aforementioned aspects still empty. The wait spent by the aspects chatting with one another, with the notable but unsurprising exception of Paresse who had dozed off. Eater, aspect of Gluttony, explained the details of a project he wanted to implement wherever they might end up to Avaro, who seemed only marginally interested himself.

"Took you long enough." Vice blurted out as Pardonner strolled through the entrance, Désir trailing not far behind.

The aspect of Patience did not raise to the bait, "Sorry we're late." and passed straight for the only empty chair on the virtues' side.

"I bet you two got yourselves a little cozy while we all waited." Rage grumbled softly, his eyes on Désir as he sat on the neighboring chair.

Shamelessly, Désir smirked, "What, are you jeal-"

Pardonner sent him a glare that could have punctured a planet, under which force the aspect of Lust immediately shut himself up.

"You need to have more tact is you ever want to charm him into a contract, Désir." Service laughed. Gauge and Regula chuckled with him, but much more softly.

"Honestly, all the effort you put in it makes me rather envious." Jealousy deadpanned out.

"Come on, shouldn't get we get into the meat of this meeting?" Eater growled.

"Speaking of meat." Orgullo shrugged, "I would really like to have a good steak right about now."

"Gonna take a while to get food production back up and running, so don't think you'll be getting one anytime soon." Avaro told him as he elbowed Paresse, who still slept.

The aspect of Sloth chewed groggily at nothing as he sat up a little straighter, but slouched back immediately after, "Hm... Meeting's starting?"

"Yes. It is." Milieu proclaimed and tapped the table with a single claw – hard enough to sound like the blow of a hammer. "We seem to have shaken off pursuit, thus our work begin to find a new home. The Tenjo has served us well so far, but it alone is insufficient as to our future needs."

"Our first priority is to find... " Ultimo said slowly, his palms met as if in prayer, "... a world on which to settle. Pardonner, Sophia, what have you found out in regard to this system?"

Sophia stood and marched to the middle. And there, he drew from his cloak a spherical object, activated it, and watched as it left his palm. It came to hover just nine feet off the floor, and rapidly constructed the image of this star system around itself.

"As you can see... this system is notably smaller than Sol. Five planets, a few small moons, no asteroid field. The closest planet from its sun is an unusually large terrestrial world with a dense atmosphere of mostly Nitrogen and Helium. Scorching hot, but is rich on mineral resources if scans are accurate." Sophia paused briefly, "The second planet was the object of my colleague's efforts, so I'll move on to the third: A hydrogen-helium gas giant, larger than even Jupiter. Fourth planet: Frozen, with a trace atmosphere of xenon and krypton. Its surface is a mix of ice crystals and iron oxides. It has little of interest, same goes for the fifth planet; which atmosphere is composed of methane and argon. At first glance, this place doesn't seem to have much of value, but there is no sign of anyone having traveled here. No probes, or trails of element zero."

"So at the very least we won't be found at first if we settle here or in elsewhere in this cluster." Milieu thought loudly. "What about the second planet?"

Sophia bowed and pulled back as Pardonner rose to take his place in the middle. He reached for the orb that still hunt in the sky and gently tapped a claw against it, which in turn zoomed the image to focus on the aforementioned second planet, which proved most promising in contrast to the less than spectacular results Sophia brought. It was stunningly beautiful, much like Earth used to be before the kurozu struck.

Pardonner's gaze lingered on the image for a spell before he began; "As you can see, this one is very Earth-like – except this one being a little larger, more massive, higher gravity, higher atmospheric pressure, with estimated greater day-length at sixty-four point one hours, estimated orbital period of two and a half years, greater distance from the star but with the same surface temperature from the looks of it. No moon of its own. No sign of prior settlement – to our knowledge unexplored. Unspoiled land. Our search has been short, but this is our most promising find. And if the humans were still around, they would – without a doubt - see this as an ideal place on which to settle."

"Indeed." Milieu purred as he rose and stepped off the table to view the image more closely. Several heartfelt emotions crossing his expression, "I had a mind to wonder if a barren planet would be more suitable, as it would be less attractive a destination for organics – to make it easier for us to hide. But with this shining emerald before us..."

"That would be boring as heck." Eater whined with all the charm of a traffic accident, "Great biodiversity: Lots of animals: Lots of possible ingredients unknown to us just waiting for someone to find. Barren planets are no fun at all."

Avaro rolled his eyes, "That's so you, fatso."

"Fatso? What, you wanna fight?"

"Cool it you two." Regula stared them both down.

"Anyway, we got to decide. How about a vote?" Gauge suggested thoughtfully.

Milieu looked to those around him and nodded, "Alright. Everyone who wants us to claim this world, raise your hand." he loudly said, and raised his own arm. For the next few seconds he silently observed.

A few looks were exchanged before arms were raised in the air. Service, Eater and Ultimo had shot theirs up in the air immediately, and the rest followed. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Paresse was the very last one to do so. Not because he needed more time to think it over, but because he is lazy.

Everyone had voted unanimously in favor for settling on the newly discovered planet. "Alright." Milieu declared, "We shall set course for Eden right away-"

Vice tilted his head, "Eden?"

"The planet of course." the silvery grand aspect hummed in satisfaction, "Just named it."

"Should vote on that too."

"I believe it fits." Ultimo giggled in obvious approval. "Fits like a glove."

"Indeed." Milieu whispered softly, "Eden Prime."

"You went and changed it!" Vice almost shouted the punchline. Most of the others could do little but laugh.


End file.
